Philodendron stenolobum

E.G. Gonç. 2003

A self heading species from Brazil belonging to the section Meconostigma.

photo © Michael Pascall

photos (1-10) © Taylor Holzer
photo (1-6) © Thomas Croat

Steve Lucas sent me these photos to post it in the ID Center. He got them from Dr. Tom Croat with this message:

''I am trying to get a determination on one of my big Philodendron collections that I got from Lynn Hannon. She claims to have gotten it from John Criswick who lives in one of the larger islands in the West Indies. I used to correspond with him but not for years. I am attaching some pictures of this plant and I am wondering if you might have an idea what it is. Also do you know how to post these pictures on the IAS web site for identification? I have never managed to learn how to run that site. I have gone on there from time to time to determine plant but have never managed to be able to leave my determinations because it always asked me for something I did not know. If you know how to do this perhaps you could post the pictures there.

This is such a distinctive plant that hopefully someone will know it. It appears very much like a Meconostigma but lacks any obvious interpetiolar scales. It bears two inflorescences per axil and as I recall it has long staminate flowers like a Meconostigma so perhaps it is some strange Meconostigma without interpetiolar scales. I have vouchered it under Croat 97823 but at the moment I have no idea where it comes from. Do you have any information on John Criswick? I would like to contact him to see if he recognizes the plant and might know from whence it came.''

And after a few weeks he identified it as Ph. stenolobum.