Philodendron jacquinii
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Philodendron jacquinii | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Philodendron jacquinii with leaves and immature fruiting bodies damaged by a feeding animal. | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Alismatales |
| Family: | Araceae |
| Genus: | Philodendron |
| Species: | P. jacquinii |
| Binomial name | |
| Philodendron jacquinii | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Philodendron jacquinii is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Araceae, whose species often are known as aroids.[1]
Philodendron jacquinii shares these features with most other species of the large genus Philodendron:[2]
- Plants contain sap which is clear or resinous, not milky.
- Leaves are undivided into leaflets.
- Tiny, functionally male or female flowers are arranged on a fingerlike spadix enveloped by a leafy "spathe."
Features helping distinguish Philodendron jacquinii from similar Philodendron species include these:[2]
- Its stems grow loosely on tree trunks and low shrubs, sometimes hanging, and are finely and uniformly rough, or asperous, to the touch.
- Leaf blades are up to 40cm long and 28 cm wide (~16 x 11 inches), somewhat triangular to egg-shaped, with the base shallowly to deeply lobed, the backward-pointed lobes rounded on young plants and a bit sharp-pointed on older ones (cordate to sub-hastate); they fall off during the dry season.
- Petioles up to 46cm long (~18 inches) in cross-section are round to slightly flattened, and spongy in texture.
- The fingerlike spadix enveloped by its spathe appears singly in leaf axils, on peduncles up to 12 cm long (~4+3⁄4 inches); the spadix is up to 12.5 cm long (~5 inches).
- The spathe enveloping the spadix is red to purplish inside, inflated, and splits open when the fruits are mature.
- Mature pistils, are prolonged at their tops.
- Ripe fruits are red-orange.
Distribution
Philodendron jacquinii is native to southern Mexico and Cuba through Central America and in South America from Colombia to French Guiana.[3]
Habitat
In Costa Rica it occurs in dry to rarely wet forests from sea level up to 1300 meters in elevation.[2] In Mexico's Gulf of Mexico coastal lowland in Veracruz state, it is described as occurring in tropical evergreen and semi-deciduous forests.[4] Also in Mexico, Philodendron jacquinii is listed among species occurring on beaches and among coastal dunes of Veracruz state.[5]
Conservation status
Frequently literature describes Philodendron jacquinii as uncommon or rare where it occurs. In Veracruz state, Mexico, the species is reported as endangered.[6]