Anthurium Puberulum (Croat & Lingán) Native to Peru

Anthurium puberulum is an Anthurium species described by Croat and Lingán, endemic to Peru and known from the La Divisoria area in the Cordillera Azul (Huánuco), near Tingo María, where it grows at elevations of 1,072 to 1,737 meters in very humid premontane transitional tropical rainforests. It occurs as a terrestrial to hemiepiphytic plant, occasionally epiphytic, with long internodes and elegantly spreading foliage.

Its leaves are among its most distinctive features: the blade is thin yet coriaceous, sagittate to sagittate-hastate in shape, and clearly lobed at the base, with the upper surface dark green and slightly glossy, while the underside is paler and matte. The leaf surface is strongly bullate, giving it a very striking, sculptural texture. In addition, the veins on the underside are covered with a very fine pubescence, a trait that inspired the name “puberulum.”

The petioles are elongated and support graceful leaves with well-marked venation and divergent posterior lobes. The inflorescence is erect, with a green spathe and a spadix that changes color, shifting from pale green before anthesis to purple during flowering, then becoming greenish again afterward. This combination of a bullate blade, finely puberulent veins beneath, green spathe, and purplish spadix makes it a highly distinctive species within its group.

Morphologically, Anthurium puberulum belongs to section Xialophyllium and stands out for its richly textured appearance, refined habit, and restricted origin in a mountainous Peruvian region known for its high endemism. Because it is known from only a few collections, its conservation status has been regarded as Data Deficient (DD).