Anthurium ( portillae x Rio Claorense wild hybrid) x magnificum "Norte"

(portillae x Rio Claorense wild hybrid) x magnificum "Norte"

The seed parent is one of the more unique plants in the greenhouse, and I mean that as a factual statement rather than a sales pitch. The emergent leaf runs through blue, orange, green, yellow, and purple before it settles down and hardens off to a deep jade laced with bright lines, like it can't commit to a color scheme until it's good and ready. A friend in Maryland bred it and sent it to me as a seed, and in about two years it's already become one of the plants I point people toward first.

The pollen parent is magnificum "Norte," which has been kicking around the trade for a while now, though mine came from Scott Cohen as a seed-grown baby. Its venation sets it apart from other magnificum ecotypes I've grown, forking close to the margin instead of staying tucked behind a perimeter vein - the kind of detail that makes you wonder if someone should just go ahead and split these into proper subspecies already. Its inflorescence smells like menthol and moth balls, which is either charming or slightly alarming depending on your relationship with old medicine cabinets.

Put the two together and you get a seedling batch built on color and a little unresolved taxonomy. That seems about right for this family.