l - CNCFlora

764
Annals of the
Missouri Botanical Garden
long, 1.2-1.7 cm diam., 0.9-1.1 cm on drying (ra- til August or rarely September. What appears to be
chis 0.9-1.2 cm diam.), the upper 1 cm sometimes a secondary flowering period may occur in the early
with as few as two apparently fertile flowers, sta- dry season because flowering collections have been
minate portion of spadix (7)9-16 cm long, the fer- seen in December and February. Most fruiting
tile staminate portion (4.5)7-12.5 cm long, gradu- specimens have been made in the dry season and
ally tapered toward both ends, (0.7)1-1.3 cm diam. early wet season from January to May.
midway, 7 mm diam. 1 cm below the apex; mostly Discussion. The species is characterized by its
sterile intermediate portion of spadix 2.0 l.0 cm robust, but moderately short stature, dark green,
long, 7-9 mm diam., with a few aborted pistillate semiglossy stems; narrowly ovate to ovate-elliptic
flowers in the lower half and a few sterile male yellowish brown, to yellow-green-drying leaf
flowers in the apical half, often with a totally barren blades; but especially by the partially sheathed petsegment
of up to 1-2.8 cm long; pistils (33)45 to ioles with the sheath margins decurrent or ending
55, depressed-globose, weakly pale yellow-green, abruptly and rounded at apex with a free, unmoderately
glossy, (2)3 to 5 across the width of the sheathed sulcate portion 1-9 cm long at the apex.
spadix, 3.0-3.7 mm diam., 1.5-1.7 mm high; stig- In addition, the species has an unusually large
ma yellow to pale orange, 0.6-1 mm high, 2.0-2.7 spathe for the size of its leaves, frequently exceedmm
diam., sometimes broadly sunken medially, ing 30 cm long.
sometimes with a prominent, protruding dome held Populations of 1). wendlandii on the Atlantic
slightly above the outer ring; staminodia 3 to 4, free slope have petioles completely terete, rather than
to the base, broadened toward the base, 0.8-1.2 sulcate adaxially, })ut this varies even on the same
mm wide at base and sometimes partly fused, usu- individual. In ad(lition, these populations are more
ally slightly thicker near apex, (2.5)3.5-5 mm long, likely to have the ^)etiole sheath even more decidwhite,
slightly flattened, 1.5-3.5 mm wide, about as edly decurrent at the apex. At least the populations
long as the pistils; synandria 4 to 7 visible per spi- of plants in Oaxaccl at middle elevation above Valle
ral, 3.5 l.0 mm diam., widely spaced at base, trun- Nacional have sal) that is only mildly odorous,
cate and smooth at apex, irregularly rounded, pale whereas elsewhere the sap is malodorous, smelling
tan, becoming bowl-shaped and brown except for somewhat like sk ll 1l k or peccary.
white, erect margins, margins sometimes crenate, DieJ%enbachia 1lperldlandii is easily confused with
with thecae 6 to 8 per synandrium, these subglo- D. oerstedii on the eastern slopes of Chiapas and
bose, ca. 1 mm long, held just below the apex of Veracruz, but D. Ilnendlandii is much more robust
the synandrium. INFRUCTESCENCE with spathe than plants of D. oerstediip which are usually less
green at maturity; berries red to bright orange, 6-8 than 1 m tall and have internodes usually less than
mm diam.
2.5 cm in diameter: In contrast, the stems of D.
wendlandii are rarely less than 2.5 cm in diameter
Distribution and habitat. Dieffenbachia wen- and are usually 4-5 cm in diameter. Other differdlandii
occurs principally in seasonally dry habi- ences in D. oerstedii are the sharply sulcate (rather
tats on the Pacific slope of Central America, rang- than terete to obtusely sulcate) petioles that are
ing from central Mexico (Oaxaca and Chiapas) to white (rather than green) at the base, and the
Guatemala (Escuintla, Huehuetenango, San Mar- sheath apex of which at least one margin is rounded
cos, Suchitepequez), E1 Salvador, Honduras (Mor- and prominently free-ending. In contrast, D. wenazan),
Nicaragua (Esteli, Granada, Matagalpa, Nue- dlandii on the Atlantic slope is more than 1.5 m
va Segovia, Zelaya), Costa Rica (Puntarenas tall at maturity, has internodes more than 3 cm in
Province), and Panama (Veraguas) at elevations of diameter, and petiole sheath margins acute to only
75 to 900 m. In Mexico the species occurs on the weakly protruded at apex with the free portion of
Atlantic slope only in the State of Oaxaca in the the petiole at most obtusely sulcate. Another way
Serrania de Juarez at 250-705 m and in Veracruz D. wendlandii differs from D. oerstedii is by its typin
or near the Estacion Biologica de Los Tuxtlas ically larger spathe, over 25 cm long versus less
near the Caribbean coast at 5-165 m elevation. The than 20 cm long for D. oerstedii.
only collection of the species in Panama, from Ba- Previously most material of D. wendlandii from
hia Honda in Veraguas Province, is unusual in hav- Mexico and Guatemala has been mistakenly called
ing blades more ovate and in drying pale green. It D. oerstedii, and indeed herbarium material without
may prove to be a new species.
good field notes is difficult to separate. Several of
Phenology. DiefNfenbachia wendlandii flowers the collections of D. oerstedii made in lowland Veprincipally
in the rainy season, beginning in May racruz (Holstein & Armbruster 20425; Nee 23 773^
and especially in June and July, but continuing un- 29752 and 29993) appear to have the petiole