First described to science by Engler in 1905, this Anthurium is a member of the section Urospadix. Urospadix may possibly be (according to published material by aroid botanist Dr. Thomas Croat) one of the oldest of the sections in the Genus anthurium due to the fact that most of the plants contained in it come from a very ancient area in SE Brazil. The main plants in this section have in common characteristics such as very short stems, short internodes, leaves that are much longer than they are wide, which are usually lanceolate in form. Probably the other most commonly cultivated anthurium from this section is A. ovatifolium. The others are not common in cultivation. The sections of Anthurium and the plants that are contained in each section are slowly undergoing revision, as DNA testing allows for the comparison of plant material on a molecular level. Plants once believed to be related have been found to not be as closely related as thought, and in some cases plants have been moved from one section to a more appropriate one. Not a lot of information is actually available about A. vittarifolium, other than it is found largely in Brazil and into Colombia, Ecuador and Peru as well.
There are variegated forms that have become popular, I owned a variegated specimen at one time, but the variegation was unstable, and the plant reverted to green again.
In nature this plant grows as a tree dwelling epiphyte, thriving in bright light and having very high water and humidity needs. But as an epiphyte, it can handle this moisture as long as the drainage of the growing substrate is perfect. Despite its new found popularity due to the current aroid craze, (and its now hefty price tag) this plant does NOT make a good houseplant. It should be mounted on a tree or kept in an open growing medium such as a wood slat orchid basket to coir lined wire basket in either sphagnum moss or a very free draining mix containing things like orchid bark, coarse perlite, compressed clay balls (Aliflor, LECA), crushed lava rock and charcoal.
The leaves of this plant in nature have been reported to reach 6-8 feet. They are scrappy and thin, usually within a narrow range of 1.5-2.5 inches. They are free bloomers, often producing more than one inflorescence at a time, and therefore they pollinate themselves between spadices fairly easily. Fruits are purple and contain 1-2 seeds per. Fruits may or may not be produced all at once. I have had plants put out fruits in serial over a period of 2 weeks or more. They germinate easily. I currently maintain 8 plants of varying sizes, and am raising a tray of over 20 seedlings. It will be interesting to watch them develop. My largest plants currently have leaves at the 5 ft mark.
If you grow this plant I would appreciate seeing YOUR photos and hearing your experience with its cultivation.
