Anthurium waterburyanum

Anthurium waterburyanum is a hemiepiphytic species endemic to northwestern Ecuador, where seedlings begin life as epiphytes before sending roots down to the forest floor. It is grown almost entirely for its large, cordate leaves, which carry a dense velvety texture and deep, near-black green colouring set off by pale, sunken primary veins. The broad, heart-shaped blades sit on stout, upright petioles and can reach substantial size on a mature plant, giving it real presence as a specimen. It sits alongside Anthurium warocqueanum as a benchmark velvet-leaf species and is frequently used as breeding stock for velvet-leaf hybrids.

Native range

Endemic to the humid intermediate-elevation forests of northwestern Ecuador.

Classification

Genus

Anthurium

Family

Araceae

Type

Wild

Growth habit

Hemiepiphytic, upright rosette

Morphology

Leaf shape

Broadly cordateHeart-shaped foliage, featuring a rounded notch (sinus) where the leaf stem attaches.

Leaf length

35-60 cm

Leaf width

25-45 cm

Petiole colour

Stout, pale green

Venation

Pale, deeply sunken primary veins on dark blade

Texture

Dense velvet

Variegation

N/A

Growth habit

Upright, self-heading rosette