Sectional classification of Central American Anthurium

In many cases the existing sectional classification systems of Schott and of Engler are inadequate. While some species assigned to various sections by Engler (1905) may be related, most sectional descriptions have many overlapping characteristics, and I believe that many species assigned to a particular section by Engler bear little relationship to each other, e.g., A. gracile (Rudge) Lindl. and A. friedrichsthalii Schott in Schott's section Leptanthurium, and A. protensum Schott and A. durandii Engl. in Engler's section Urospadix. Anthurium friedrichsthalii Schott is a typical member of section Porphyrochitonium Schott, as is A. durandii Engl., while A. protensum Schott is a member of section Pachyneurium Schott. A review of the sectional classification of Anthurium will be published elsewhere and, although an attempt will eventually be made to revise the sectional classification of Anthurium, it is premature to arrange Central American species in any subgeneric classification system in this treatment. An attempt will be made here, however, tentatively to assign all Central American species to a section. In some cases species will be placed within an alliance of species that may later be ranked at the sectional level. It is hoped that ongoing studies with live material including cytological, anatomical, and chemical studies will prove adequate to provide a thorough analysis of the sectional classification of the genus.