Anthurium oxycarpum Poepp.

Epiphytic or terrestrial, sometimes epipetric; stem short or elongate, to 60 cm long, 1–3 cm wide; leaf scars inconspicuous, obscured by root mass, 1 cm high, 1.2 cm wide; roots numerous, dense, spreading, green to whitish, smooth to densely pubescent when dried, short, bluntly tapered, 1–7.5 cm long, (1)2–4 mm diam.; cataphylls membranous to subcoriaceous, lanceolate, prominently 1-ribbed throughout, 5.5–12 cm long, acuminate at apex with subapical apiculum 1–2 mm long, light green, drying thin, yellowish to pale tan (B & K yellow 7/5), persisting more or less intact, eventually as fine linear fibers. Leaves erect to erect-spreading; petioles (2.5)5–15 cm long, 4–9 mm diam., subterete to C-shaped to D-shaped, flattened to narrowly or obtusely sulcate adaxially, the margins blunt, rounded abaxially, the surface dark green, pale-speckled; geniculum slightly thicker than petiole, 1–2.5 cm long; sheath for 3–4 cm long; blades subcoriaceous, narrowly to broadly elliptic to broadly oblanceolate to narrowly obovate, acute to short-acuminate at apex (the acumen downturned, inrolled), obtuse to acute or attenuate at base, (12)22–55 cm long, 10–19 cm wide, broadest at or above the middle, the margins flat to broadly undulate; upper surface glossy to semiglossy, occasionally matte, medium to dark green, lower surface matte to weakly glossy, moderately to conspicuously paler; midrib above raised and paler than to concolorous with the surface, below prominently and obtusely to acutely raised at base, becoming convexly raised toward the apex and slightly paler than surface; primary lateral veins 10–25 per side, departing midrib at 40–70 degree angle, straight to weakly arcuate to the collective vein, weakly raised near the midrib, becoming sunken in grooves toward the margin; interprimary veins weakly sunken above, weakly raised below; tertiary veins weakly sunken above, raised below; reticulate veins obscure; collective vein rising from near the base, sunken above, raised below, paler than surface, 5–11 mm from margin. Inflorescences erect, equalling or longer than leaves; peduncle 18.5–54.7 cm long, 3–5 mm diam., 2.5–5 times as long as petiole, green, terete; spathe spreading to reflexed at an acute to almost right angle from spadix, coriaceous to subcoriaceous, light to dark green, sometimes tinged with red or maroon at margins, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, sometimes elliptic, 5–12.5 cm long, 1–3 cm wide, broadest usually in the lower third (sometimes at or near the middle), inserted at 35–45 degree angle on peduncle, abruptly acuminate at apex (the acumen tightly inrolled, 6 mm long), acute to acuminate at base, the margins meeting at 60–80 degree angle; stipe to 17–20 mm long in front, 0–1 mm long in back; spadix bluish-green to green to yellow-green, also reported as creamy and tan, tapered, erect, held at 140–170 degree angle from peduncle, 4–8.5 cm long, 6–10 mm diam. near base, 3–7 mm diam. near apex; flowers square, 2.4–3.2 mm in both directions, the sides moderately straight parallel to spiral, straight to jaggedly sigmoid perpendicular to spiral; 4–7 flowers visible in principal spiral, 9–11 in alternate spiral; tepals covered with thin, matte, bluish green, waxy bloom, few droplets present at anthesis; lateral tepals 1.3–2 mm wide, the inner margins broadly convex, the outer margins, 2–3-sided; pistils weakly emergent at anthesis, matte covered with waxy bloom, green, becoming brown; stigma oblong-ellipsoid, 0.6–0.7 mm long, brush-like and depressed medially before droplets emerge; stamens emerging in a prompt, regular, complete sequence from the base, inclined slightly invard over the stigma; anthers creamy-white to orange, 0.5–0.6 mm long, 0.6–0.8 mm wide; thecae oblong-ovoid, scarcely divaricate; pollen white. Infructescence with spathe persisting; spadix 6.5–8.5 cm long, 1.8–2.5 cm diam., with berries scattered throughout; berries green, becoming red and eventually purple in the apical half, obovoid-oblong to ellipsoid-obovoid, long-acuminate toward the apex, rounded at apex with radial ridges, 7.5–12.3 mm long, 4.2–5 mm diam near base, toward the apex narrowing to 1.7–2.5 mm diam.; pericarp thin, transparent; mesocarp gelatinous with moderate number of raphide cells; seeds 2 per berry, yellowish, oblong-ovoid, flattened, 5.3–5.5 mm long, 3 mm diam., 1.5–1,8 mm thick, enveloped by transparent, sometimes amber, gelatinous, sticky substance.

Anthurium oxycarpum ranges from southeastern Colombia to Amazonian Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil at 100 to 870 (1,300) m. It occurs in tropical moist, premontane wet and tropical wet forest life zones. This species is distinguished by its rosulate habit, generally short, densely short﷓rooted stem, conspicuously veiny leaves (with at least some of the tertiary veins sunken above) and especially by its erect, narrowly ovate﷓lanceolate spathe and frequently bluish﷓green, slightly tapered spadix. The leaf blades characteristically dry thin and somewhat glossy on the lower surface. Some cultivated plants of this species have markedly bullate and weakly quilted leaf blades, a characteristic not yet observed in the field. Anthurium oxycarpum is closest to A. knappiae, which differs in having petioles two to three times longer, an attenuate leaf base, a much longer peduncle, a non﷓glaucous spadix and tepals with conspicuous raphide cells. See discussion of that species for details. The original type specimen designated by Poeppig was collected in Brazil at Ega (now Tefe), located on the Río Solimoes at the mouth of the Río Japura. Originally deposited at Vienna, this specimen is now lost, and a thorough search of all major herbaria has turned up no duplicates. Consequently, a second Poeppig collection from Yurimaguas in Peru, cited by Engler in his 1905 revision, is here designated as the lectotype. The Yurimaguas collection is also the only one illustrated by Schott (Scott drawing 356; NYBG Negative # 3873; microfiche # 15: C﷓7). Considerable confusion exists regarding the type of Anthurium strictum, now a synonym of A. oxycarpum. In preparing a description of what he presumed to be A. dombeyanum for the Refugium Botanicum, Baker (1871) described and illustrated instead A. oxycarpum. Upon realizing this error and assuming the latter to be a new species, Engler (1879) redescribed it as A. strictum, attributing the name to N. E. Brown at Kew. He cited as the type the same material used to illustrate the Refugium Botanicum article, namely a specimen from the Río Branco in Brazil (at least an inflorescence of the type specimen had been sent to Engler in Berlin by N. E. Brown). Engler also misidentified as Anthurium strictum an Ule collection (5598) from western Acre along the Río Jurua Mirim. While photographing type specimens in Berlin, J.F. Macbride of the Field Museum incorporated into a single photograph an inflorescence of A. oxycarpum (labeled A. strictum) with the Ule collection misidentified by Engler. The latter collection, which is complete, is actually A. uleanum. The mixed collection represented in this Field Museum photograph needs to be corrected. The specimen to the left represents A. uleanum, while the one to the right (inflorescence only) represents A. oxycarpum.

Anthurium strictum N.E. Br ex Engl., Monogr. Phan 2: 638. (1879). Type: Brazil. Acre: Río Branco, N.E. Brown s.n. (K, identified with Kew Negative # 2805).

Anthurium oxycarpum is a species of flowering plant in the genus Anthurium. It can be found in Central and South America from southeast Colombia to Bolivia and northern Brazil. One of the "birds nest" Anthurium species, it grows terrestrially. In its native land, the dried leaves–which smell fragrantly like vanilla and musk when dried–are sometimes smoked or used as snuff.