Spathiphyllum monachinoi G.S.Bunting
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Authority
Bunting, George S. 1960. A revision of Spathiphyllum (Araceae). Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 10: 1-54.
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Family
Araceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Latin Diagnosis - Foliorum lamina valde anguste oblonga ad lanceolato-ellipticam, 30-34 cm longa et 3.5-4.3 cm lata, ad apicem acuminata, ad basim acuta, venis primariis 5-jugatis angulo 15-20° divergentibus; petiolus gracilis, 27-32 cm longus, ad dimidium conspicue vaginatus; geniculum ca. 1.7 cm longum. Pedunculus petiolum longitudine subaequans, ca. 30 cm longus; spatha anguste lanceolata, 11.8 cm longa et 2.6 cm lata, apice attenuato, basi acuto et in pedunculo ca. 0.5 cm decurrenti, intra viridi-alba, extus viridis (fide Wurdack et Monachino) ; spadix albus, ca. 4 cm longus, stipite ca. 2 cm longo; perianthii segmenta separata; pistillum obpyramidale, apice subtruncato, solum stigmate papilliformi perianthium superanti; ovarium 2-loculare, loculis 6-5-ovulatis, ovulis ad pulvinum subbasilarem in loculo quoque affixis, 12-11 in toto ovario; fructus ignotus.
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Discussion
Figure 5.
Type collection: J. J. Wurdack & J. Y Monachino 41056, "Spathe greenish-white above, green beneath, spadix white, in rocky moist ravine just below Raudal Maraca (ca. 110 river k m from mouth), alt. 115 m," Rio Parguaza, Edo. Bolivar, Venezuela; 31 Dec 1955 (holotype NY).Unicate. Known only from the type collection. The collectors told me that they encountered numerous sterile plants in the locality, but only one flowering plant was found and collected.
It is with much pleasure that this species is named for Mr. J. V Monachino, one of the collectors of the type specimen and Associate Custodian of the herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden. His keen taxonomic ability and willing assistance has greatly benefited the author during the course of this investigation.
S. monachinoi is the most robust Guayana species of sect. Massowia. Its bilocular ovary contains twelve or eleven ovules per ovary, in contrast to the trilocular ovary of S. jejunum which contains a total of only seven to six ovules.
S. monachinoi was collected in lower elevations along the Rio Parguaza, some 200 air miles north of the Rio Cunucunuma where S. jejunum was collected. Between these points lies the broad Rio Ventuari drainage, which Maguire and his associates have explored botanically without procuring a single specimen of Spathiphyllum.
The greater number of ovules per locule in S. monachinoi easily sets it apart from S. sipapoanum from nearby Cerro Sipapo. It differs from the other species of Guayana by its outstandingly larger size and narrower leaves.
There are similarities between this species and S. quindiuense. They differ in these characteristics: (1) the texture of the leaf-blade and spathe (in dried specimens) is chartaceous in S. monachinoi, pergameneous in S. quindiuense; and (2) the stipe of the spadix is proportionally shorter in the latter species.