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Species library › Anthurium › Anthurium formosum
Aroids Well documented

Anthurium formosum

A large Anthurium of middle-elevation wet forest from Nicaragua to Colombia and north-western Venezuela. It is one of the commoner species at about 500–1,500 m and can form big colonies, either on trees or on the ground. Its leaves reach 30–80 cm long, and its spadix gives off a spearmint-scented wax that attracts euglossine bees. Grow it large, warm-to-intermediate and humid, in bright shade.

Anthurium formosum
Photo: Dick Culbert from Gibsons, B.C., Canada, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Warm-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light ShadeDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodGrows on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

Premontane and lower montane wet forest. It grows as an epiphyte on trunks and as a terrestrial on the forest floor and banks, often in large colonies. Recent observations cluster in forested reserves of the Costa Rican Central Valley slopes (Cartago, Turrialba) and the Colombian Andes (Antioquia, Boyacá).

Mostly 500–1,500 m, according to the literature summarised on Wikipedia.

NicaraguaCosta RicaPanamaColombiaVenezuela

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY 2.0 licence, unmodified.