Evaluation of potential use of native Anthurium foliage

Abstract

The Brazilian flora has a large number of species with ornamental potential. These species are poorly recognized or even completely unexplored. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential use of four accessions belonging to the species of Anthurium plowmanii, A. raimundii, A. bonplandii and A. Affine for cutting foliage. The accessions from Embrapa Germplasm Bank of Tropical flowers were evaluated for 21 morphological and phenological characteristics and post-harvest longevity. The ornamental characterization was based on the evaluation of this data and florist acceptance as well. The accessions presented differences in almost all the characteristics related to the morphology of the inflorescence and the leaf. Some characteristics such: fruit color, petiole, spadix, and spathe length, are highly variable within the species and depend on the developmental stage. Some characters like petiole length and inflorescence position are particularly important as indicators for the use as cut foliage. The plants have slow development as typical from members of this family and and the production of leaves per year ranged between 6.6 (A. plowmanii) to 10.5 (A. bonplandii), which might be increased with the improvement of cultivation aspects, with an emphasis on spacing, plant management and fertilization. The leaves of Anthurium plowmanii, A. raimundii, A. bonplandii and A. affine present high postharvest durability and great potential as cut foliage, possessing florist acceptance as well.