Aglaonema commutatum var. maculatum (Hook. fil.) Nicolson

Aglaonema commutatum var. maculatum

Aglaonema commutatum var. maculatum (Hooker f.)Nicolson, 1968, p. 125.

A. marantifolium var. maculatum Hooker f., 1865, pl. 5500.

A. commutatum var. commutatum of authors not Schott: Regel, 1865, p. 130, pl. 470.—Morren and deVos, 1882,p. 51.—Engler, 1915, p. 27, figs. 10G–P.—Birdsey, 1951, pp. 12–13.

A. marantifolium sensu Boynton, 1924, p. 165, pl. 302 [not Blume, 1837].

Petioles 6–13 (18) cm long, 0.5–0.9 times as long as the leaf-blade. Petiolar sheaths 3–11 cm long. Leaf-blades 10–20 cm long, 3.5–7.0 cm wide, length/width ratio 1:2.4–3.4(3.7); variegation confluent in stripes following the primary veins on the upper leaf surface; venatibn differentiated into 4–7 primary veins diverging from the midrib at (35°) 45°–60° (70°). Spathe 3.5–6.5 cm long, 2.8–3.0 cm wide. Spadix 2–4.7 cm long, equaling to 1 cm short of spathe apex; staminate portion 1.5–4.0 cm long, 0.4–0.6 cm thick.

TYPE COLLECTION.—England, Chelsea, Royal Exotic Nursery, 25 March 1863 [without collector] (holotype: K). Loher 2445 is mounted on the same sheet with the holotype.

DISTRIBUTION.—Central Luzon.

According to the holotype, this variety was imported from Manila by Veitch. According to Morren and de Vos (1882, p. 51), Linden exhibited it in Brussels on 19 July 1863. Most authors have used the binomial A. commutatum to refer to var. maculatum, probably because the typical variety (var. commutatum) is quite rare and not nearly so well known and widely distributed as var. maculatum.

This variety is apparently most closely related to var. elegans. As happens in that variety, occasional cultivated specimens show inflorescence characters of A. marantifolium, such as having the stipe more or less equaling the spathe decurrency. The similar length of spathe decurrency and stripe suggests that A. marantifolium may be related, even though the overall sizes of the plants are widely different.

The wild usually differs from cultivated material in the petiolar sheath length. In cultivated material the sheath is (0.6) 0.7–0.9 (1) times as long as the petiole length, but in the cultivated material it is only (0.3) 0.5–0.6 (0.8) times as long.

The Cultivars of Aglaonema commutatum

The cultivar names known to me are discussed below in alphabetic order.

Mr. Nat De Leon of the Parrot Jungle in Miami, Florida, has done a great deal of breeding and selecting in Aglaonema commutatum. He is responsible for the origin of most of the commercial cultivars. Unfortunately, time was not taken to study his material and to obtain information directly from him. I have relied on the information published by Graf (1963, p. 1526–1527). The hybrid origin noted for several of the cultivars may simply be the result of apomixis rather than hybridization since apomixis, pollen sterility, and high polyploidy are well established in this species.