From: ExoticRainforest <Steve at exoticrainforest.com> on 2009.11.11 at 14:01:25(20263)
Thanks Alison. If we can get Dr.Croat to respond I believe he would say this is just another of themultiple photo errors in Mr. Graf's books. I am personally aware ofquite a few including the plant he calls "Philodendron cannifolium"which is correctly Philodendron martianum. I doubt it willever happen but aroids should totally drop the use of the name"Philodendron cannifolium". http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Philodendron%20martianum%20pc.html Theinteresting thing about that error is it may have been caused by Dr.von Martius for whom Philodendron martianum was named! I do mybest to explain that in the link.
If you go to this link you can see a photo of the real Philodendronvariifolium which looks nothing like the plant many of us havegrown using that name which is truly Philodendron brandtianum: http://www.tropicos.org/Name/2103366
I'm still trying to find a specimen of the real Philodendronvariifolium so if any of you have a plant that looks like the theonein these photos please drop me a line.
I was able to get a short description of Philodendron variifolium fromthe Kew's CATE Araceae: http://www.cate-araceae.org/index.do;jsessionid–982249A0181F1EB1E74E6CEB9841D4
LEAVES:Petiole terete, 20-25 cm long, shortly and narrowly sheathed in thelower part. Blade thinly coriaceous, shape decidedly diverse,cordate-oblong or sagittate-oblong, rarely hastate or hastate-oblong,apex with a 1-1.5 cm long cuspid, 20-26 cm long, 6-7 cm wide halfway;posterior lobes very short and very obtuse or elongate-oblong obtuse,separated by a short, wide, very open sinus, apex curved upwards; theposterior ribs in hastate blades are weak, horizontal, curving upwardsin a sigmoid-curve, lateral veins of the anterior lobe all sub-equal.
If you read this closely you'll see it does not describe the plantmost growers call Philodendron variifolium.
Steve
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