Land of giants: two new pachycaul Monstera (Araceae, Monsteroideae, Monstereae) from Panama

Abstract

The genus Monstera is a diverse group of nomadic vines endemic to the Neotropics, with its greatest diversity concentrated in the montane forests of southern Central America. The Cordillera de Talamanca, spanning southern Costa Rica and western Panama, has emerged as a hotspot for pachycaul Monstera species which exhibit large leaf and inflorescence sizes. This study presents the discovery and description of two new giant Monstera species from Panama: M. corana and M. colossica. Both species occur relatively close to M. gigas in the cloud forests of the southern Talamanca range, an area characterised by high humidity, persistent cloud cover and heterogeneous volcanic soils. We provide detailed morphological descriptions, field observations, distribution maps and comparisons with morphologically related taxa.