Epiphyte or terrestrial, 56-120 cm tall; stems usually short, stout, 2-3 cm diam.; roots moderately dense, several at most nodes, ca. 6 mm thick, green or brownish, descending; cataphylls coriaceous, (5)8-19 cm long, turning brown, mu-cronate at apex, remaining intact, eventually dilacerating.

LEAVES with petioles erect to erect-spreading, 10-70 cm long, (5)8-9 mm diam., broadly sulcate above sheath, more deeply sulcate near apex with acute margins, rounded abaxially, sometimes tinged purplish; geniculum 1-4.5 cm long, sulcate, usually purplish; blades ovate to narrowly ovate, coriaceous, semi-erect or spreading from petioles, rounded to refuse and apiculate at apex, truncate to subcordate or cordate at base, 15-50 cm long, 12.5-37 cm wide, broadest at point of petiole attachment, the margin pale green, often slightly turned under; the anterior lobe to 46 cm long with margins convex and often irregular where basal veins meet the margin; the posterior lobes to 14 cm long, directed conspicuously upward; the sinus very narrow to broad (when present), obtuse to acute at apex; the upper surface semiglossy, the lower surface matte or semiglossy, conspicuously brownish glandular-punctate; the midrib convexly raised above, diminished toward apex, convexly raised below and usually tinged purple; basal veins usually 3 or 4 pairs, sometimes with as many as 6 pairs on cordate blades, up to 4 of them coalesced 0.5-3 cm, sunken or raised in valleys near the midrib on upper surface, sharply raised and often tinged purple on lower surface; posterior rib naked, curved; primary lateral veins 10-20 or more per side, departing midrib at 45° angle, slightly sunken or flat above, raised below; in-terprimary veins numerous, nearly as prominent as the primary lateral veins, usually flat above, slightly raised below; secondary veins numerous, ± straight and connecting pairs of basal veins, ± flat and nearly as prominent as the primary lateral veins above, slightly raised below; collective vein arising from uppermost basal vein, 2-5 cm from the margin midway on blade, raised at base above, sunken at apex, tinged purple below.

INFLORESCENCE erect to spreading, usually much longer than leaves; peduncle 30-88 cm long, 5-10 mm diam., terete, frequently mottled with purple, 0.66 to 3 times as long as petioles; spathe coriaceous, green tinged with purple (B & K Yellow-green 6/7.5), narrowly ovate-oblong to oblong-lanceolate, 8-14 cm long, (2)2.8-3.9 cm wide, broadest just above point of attachment, abruptly acuminate at apex, obtuse to acute at base, the margins often tinged purple, inserted at 45°-80° angle on peduncle; stipe 5-25 mm long in front, 2-6 mm long in back, ca. 8 mm wide, green, often mottled with purple; spadix violet-purple (B & K Red-purple 3/10), 12-25 cm long, 8-13 mm diam. at base, 5-8 mm diam. at apex, sometimes weakly arched in basal fourth; flowers rhombic, 2.8-4.5 mm long, 2.3-3.5 mm wide, the sides straight to weakly sigmoid; 7-13(15) flowers visible in the principal spiral, 5-8(10) flowers visible in the alternate spiral; tepals glossy, green-punctate, with small droplets at anthesis, lateral tepals 2-2.3 mm wide, the inner margins ± straight, not overlapping; pistils green, exposed at base as soon as the spathe opens; stigma ca. 1 mm long, green, usually square or hour-glass-shaped, brushlike with a small droplet appearing briefly, 1 or 2 days before the first stamens emerge, the papillae exserted above the tepals; stamens emerging moderately rapidly from the base, held in a close circle at edge of pistil; anthers white, held over pistil, opening as soon as they emerge, ca. 0.5 mm long, 1.5 mm wide; thecae ellipsoid, not divaricate; pollen white.

INFRUCTESCENCE spreading; spathe persisting, the spadix 29-38 cm long, 1.5-2.5 cm diam.; berries oblong-linear, square in cross-section, tapered to ± square at apex, ca. 10 mm long, pale green, white at maturity, exserted from tepals 2-5 mm before maturity, often not maturing in apical one-half to one-fifth of the spadix. Seeds not seen. Figs. 94 and 97.

The species ranges from Costa Rica to Colombia (mountains of northwest Choco adjacent to Panama) at elevations of 350 to 1,800 m. It occurs only along the central cordillera. In Costa Rica the species is known only from premontane rain and lower montane rain forest in the region around Tapanti but it possibly extends throughout the Talamanca mountain range. In Panama, the species has been collected in premontane wet, tropical wet, and lower montane wet forest from Cerro Colorado in Chiriquí Province to the Cerro Jefe region in Panama Province, then appears again only near the Colombian border in Daricn. Anthurium lentii is in section Digitinervium and is perhaps most closely related to A. ovatifolium Engl., a species from Ecuador and Peru, which differs in having red berries. Anthurium lentii can be recognized by its thick, distinctively bicolorous, heavily punctate, truncate to cordate leaf blades with several, heavy, prominently ascending basal veins. Other distinctive features include the prominently exserted pistils and the white, oblong, more or less tetragonal mature berries.
 
 

Map of Mesoamerican specimens with coordinates

Costa Rica Lim—n: 800 m, 9.24.10N 83.20.00W, 24 July 1989, Gerardo Herrera 3331 (MO).
Costa Rica Lim—n: 1300 m, 9.24.15N 83.05.15W, 6 Mar. 1992, Herrera 5184 (MO, CR).
Costa Rica Lim—n: P.N. Cordillera de Talamanca; Cordillera de Talamanca, 1650 m, 09.23.25N 83.12.55W, 27 March 1993, Gerardo Herrera 6048 (CR, MO). Costa Rica Lim—n: Cordillera de Talamanca, 1200-1300 m, 09.45N 83.19W, 16 Aug 1995, Grayum 11021 (INB, MO).
Panama : 1500 m, 8.35N 81.50W, 8 July 1988, Thomas B. Croat 69197 (MO,US).
Panama Bocas del Toro: 310 m, 8.45N 82.10W, 9 March 1985, T.B. Croat & M.H. Grayum 60138 (MO).
Panama Chiriquí: Fortuna Dam Area, 1500 m, 8.43N 82.15W, 27 Feb. 1985, Hampshire & Whitefoord 160 (BM).
Panama Chiriquí: 1200 m,, 6 February 1985, Henk van der Werff & Cor van Hardeveld 6573 (MO).
Panama Chiriquí: 1200 m, 8.45N 82.18W, 23 June 1987, Thomas B. Croat 66718 (MO).
Panama Chiriquí: 8.46N 82.16W, 23 Sept. 1987, Thomas B. Croat 68023 (MO).
Panama Chiriquí: 1250-1550 m, 08.45N 82.15W, 27 June 1987, Gordon McPherson 11095 (MO).
Panama Chiriquí: 1150 m, 8.45N 82.15W, 23 Oct. 1985, Gordon McPherson 7283 (MO).
Panama Chiriquí: 1200 m, 8.42N 82.14W, 15 June 1984, H.W. Churchill 5444 (MO).
Panama Chiriquí: 1200 m, 8.42N 82.14W, 16 June 1984, H.W. Churchill 5464 (MO).
Panama Chiriquí: 08.45N 82.18W, 24 July 1994, Thomas B. Croat & Guanghua Zhu 76398 (MO).
Panama Chiriquí: 1200-1500 m,, 13 Mar. 1976, Thomas B. Croat 33204 (MO).
Panama Darien: 1300-1400 m, 08.04.30N 77.14.00W, 21 octubre 1987, Hermes Cuadros, B. Hammel, G. deNevers y H. Herrera 3954 (MO).
Panama Darien: Parque Nacional del Darién, 1250-1500 m, 8.04.30N 77.14.00W, 20-26 Oct. 1987, Greg de Nevers, H. Cuadros, B. Hammel & H. Herrera 8466 (MO).
Panama Darien: 1300-1500m, 8.09.5N 77.15.0W, 27 Oct 1987, B. Hammel G. de Nevers & H. Herrera 16543 (MO).
Panama Panamá: 800-850 m, 9.20N 79.15W, 20 Nov. 1985, Gordon McPherson 7522 (MO).
Panama Panamá: 850-900 m, 9.15N 79.30W, 3 Nov. 1985, Gordon McPherson 7415 (MO).
Panama San Blas: 325 m, 9.19N 78.35W, 28 Aug. 1984, Greg de Nevers 3779 (MO).