Coccothrinax

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Coccothrinax
Coccothrinax argentata.jpg
C. argentata, Bahia Honda Key, Florida
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Subfamily: Coryphoideae
Tribe: Cryosophileae
Genus: Coccothrinax
Sarg.
Type species
C. argentata
Diversity
About 53 species
Synonyms

Haitiella L.H.Bailey
Thrincoma O.F.Cook
ThringisO.F.Cook

Contents

Coccothrinax is a genus of palms in the family Arecaceae. There are more than 50 species described in the genus, plus many synonyms and subspecies. A new species ( Coccothrinax spirituana ) was described as recently as 2017. [1] Many Coccothrinax produce thatch. In Spanish-speaking countries, guano is a common name applied to Coccothrinax palms. The species are native throughout the Caribbean, the Bahamas, extreme southern Florida and southeastern Mexico, but most of the species are known only from Cuba. [2] [3] [4]

Description

Detail of the stem of Coccothrinax scoparia showing fibrous leaf sheaths Coccothrinax scoparia leaf sheaths.JPG
Detail of the stem of Coccothrinax scoparia showing fibrous leaf sheaths

Coccothrinax is a genus of small to medium-sized, fan palms with relatively slender stems [5] and 8 to 22 palmate leaves. [6] The stems are initially covered by fibrous leaf sheaths. These break down into a network of fibres or spines, eventually leaving a bare trunk covered with leaf scars. [5] The undersides of the leaflets are often silvery-grey; [6] this is reflected in the common name "silver palm", which is given to many species of Coccothrinax. [5] The base of the petiole is not split longitudinally. The absence of this trait is a distinguishing character that separates Coccothrinax from Thrinax. [6]

Coccothrinax species bear branched inflorescences that are located among the leaves. The bisexual flowers, which are borne on short stalks, have between 6 and 13 stamens and a single carpel. The fruit are small, single-seeded, and range in colour from purple-red to purple-black, to brown. The seeds are deeply grooved "and resemble a brain". [6]

Taxonomy

Cryosophileae   
Simplified phylogeny of the Cryosophileae based on four nuclear genes and the matK plastid gene. [7]

The genus Coccothrinax was first described by American botanist Charles Sprague Sargent in 1899. He split the genus away from Thrinax based on characteristics of the fruit and seeds. The genus was based on Sargent's description of C. jucunda (now C. argentata ) and C. garberi (also synonymised with C. argentata). He also assigned Thrinax argentea and T. radiata to the genus; [8] while the former is now recognised as part of Coccothrinax, the latter remains in Thrinax. [9] The generic epithet combines "coccus", the Latin word for berry, with Thrinax. [6]

Coccothrinax is the most diverse genus of Caribbean palms. [9] Although Andrew Henderson and colleagues only recognised fourteen species in their 1995 Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas, [6] the current World Checklist of Arecaceae recognises 52 or 53 species. [10]

Coccothrinax is placed in the tribe Cryosophileae. [11]

Distribution

Coccothrinax is a primarily Caribbean genus—it is found throughout the insular Caribbean, and in adjacent areas of Mexico and Florida. [6] Species are usually found in dry, open or exposed habitats, on limestone, serpentine or sandy soils. [5] [6]

Coccothrinax argentata ranges from Florida and the Florida Keys, through the Bahamas and San Andrés Island to southeastern Mexico. [12] Coccothrinax barbadensis ranges through the Lesser Antilles to Trinidad and Tobago and the Netherlands Antilles. [13] The remaining species have narrower distributions; many are known from single populations in Cuba or Hispaniola. [14]

Botanic gardens

Large collections are grown in Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (more than 250 plants, more than 23 species), [15] in Miami, Florida, Jardín Botánico Nacional (15 species) [16] in Havana, Cuba, and Palmetum of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (more than 1,000 Thrinax and Coccothrinax plants), [17] in the Canary Islands, Spain.

Related Research Articles

<i>Coccothrinax argentata</i> Species of palm

Coccothrinax argentata, commonly called the Florida silver palm, is a species of palm tree. It is native to south Florida, southeast Mexico, Colombia and to the West Indies, where it is found in the Bahamas, the southwest Caribbean and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Its natural habitat is rocky, calcareous soil in coastal scrubland and hammock communities.

Coccothrinax boschiana is a palm endemic to dry forests on limestone on the Sierra Martín García ridge and Sierra de Neiba on the Barahona Peninsula in the south of the Dominican Republic on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. This species was first described in 1997.

<i>Thrinax</i> Genus of palms

Thrinax is a genus in the palm family, native to the Caribbean. It is closely related to the genera Coccothrinax, Hemithrinax and Zombia. Flowers are small, bisexual and are borne on small stalks.

<i>Zombia</i> Genus of palm endemic to Hispaniola

Zombia antillarum, commonly known as the zombie palm, is a species of palm tree and the only member of the genus Zombia. It is endemic to the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles. Usually found in dry, hilly areas of northern and southern Haiti and the northwest of the Dominican Republic, Z. antillarum is a relatively short fan palm with clustered stems and a very distinctive appearance caused by its persistent spiny leaf sheaths. Threatened by habitat destruction in Haiti, Z. antillarum is a popular ornamental species due to its distinctive appearance, low maintenance requirements and salt tolerance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palmetum of Santa Cruz de Tenerife</span> Botanical garden in Canary Islands, Spain

The Palmetum of Santa Cruz de Tenerife is a botanical garden of 120,000 m2 specialized in palms (Arecaceae). It is an artificial hill, with views of the ocean, located in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. The gardens include a large system of waterfalls, streams and ponds, a museum dedicated to palms, and a display shade house. The project was started in 1995 on a former landfill and only opened to the public in 2014. The valuable palm collection gathers about 600 species of palms and it is focused on the ones native to world islands. Trees and shrubs of other plant families are also displayed, organised in "biogeographical sections". All gardens are maintained with no pesticides and no fertilizers, different species of wild birds are easily seen in the palmetum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlo Morici</span> Italian botanist

Carlo Morici is an Italian botanist specialized in palm trees and also known for his landscaping projects.

<i>Desmoncus</i> Genus of plants

Desmoncus is a genus of mostly climbing, spiny palms native to the Neotropics. The genus extends from Mexico in the north to Brazil and Bolivia in the south, with two species present in the southeastern Caribbean.

<i>Chelyocarpus</i> Genus of palms

Chelyocarpus is a genus of small to medium-sized fan palms which are native to northwestern South America. Some are upright trees, while others creep along the ground. Species are used for thatch, to weave hats, stuff pillows and as a source of salt.

<i>Coccothrinax crinita</i> Species of palm

Coccothrinax crinita is a palm which is endemic to Cuba. Like other members of the genus Coccothrinax, C. barbadensis is a fan palm.

Coccothrinax jamaicensis, the silver thatch or Jamaican silver thatch, is a fan palm that is endemic to Jamaica.

<i>Coccothrinax litoralis</i> Species of palm

Coccothrinax litoralis, the Cuban silver palm, is a palm which is endemic to Cuba.

<i>Kerriodoxa</i> Genus of palms

Kerriodoxa elegans, the white backed palm, is the only species of palm tree in the genus Kerriodoxa, in the family Arecaceae.

<i>Leucothrinax</i> Genus of palms

Leucothrinax morrisii, the Key thatch palm, is a small palm which is native to the Greater Antilles, northern Lesser Antilles, The Bahamas and Florida and the Florida Keys in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coryphoideae</span> Subfamily of palms

The Coryphoideae is one of five subfamilies in the palm family, Arecaceae. It contains all of the genera with palmate leaves, excepting Mauritia, Mauritiella and Lepidocaryum, all of subfamily Calamoideae, tribe Lepidocaryeae, subtribe Mauritiinae. However, all Coryphoid palm leaves have induplicate (V-shaped) leaf folds, while Calamoid palms have reduplicate leaf folds. Pinnate leaves do occur in Coryphoideae, in Phoenix, Arenga, Wallichia and bipinnate in Caryota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cryosophileae</span> Tribe of palms

Cryosophileae is a tribe of palms in the subfamily Coryphoideae. The tribe ranges from southern South America, through Central America, into Mexico and the Caribbean. It includes New World genera formerly included in the tribe Thrinacinae, which was split after molecular phylogenetic studies showed that Old World and New World members of the tribe were not closely related.

<i>Hemithrinax compacta</i> Species of palm

Hemithrinax compacta is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is a palm that is endemic to Cuba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trachycarpeae</span> Tribe of palms

Trachycarpeae is a tribe of palms in subfamily Coryphoideae of the plant family Arecaceae. It has the widest distribution of any tribe in Coryphoideae and is found on all continents, though the greatest concentration of species is in Southeast Asia. Trachycarpeae includes palms from both tropical and subtropical zones; the northernmost naturally-occurring palm is a member of this tribe. Several genera can be found in cultivation in temperate areas, for example species of Trachycarpus, Chamaerops, Rhapidophyllum and Washingtonia.

References

  1. ↑ Moya Lopez, Celio E.; Verdecia Perez, Raul M.; García-Lahera, Julio P.; Martínez-Pentón, Lester R. (2017). "The Coccothrinax "azul" from Sancti Spiritus, Cuba". Palms. 61: 83–90.
  2. ↑ Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden – Coccothrinax Archived 2006-08-14 at the Wayback Machine – URL retrieved June 24, 2006
  3. ↑ Morici, Carlo. 2002. Coccothrinax boschiana. Palms 41:1. "Coccothrinax boschiana". Archived from the original on 2006-12-13. Retrieved 2006-12-12. – URL retrieved June 24, 2006
  4. ↑ ePalmetum: Species in the genus Coccothrinax Archived 2006-09-03 at the Wayback Machine – URL retrieved June 24, 2006
  5. 1 2 3 4 Uhl, Natalie E.; John Dransfield (1987). Genera Palmarum: a classification of palms based on the work of Harold E. Moore Jr. Lawrence, Kansas: The L. H. Bailey Hortorium and the International Palm Society. pp. 179–80.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Henderson, Andrew; Galeano, Gloria; Bernal, Rodrigo (1995). Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. 45–50. ISBN   978-0-691-08537-1.
  7. ↑ Cano, Ángela; Bacon, Christine D.; Stauffer, Fred W.; Antonelli, Alexandre; Serrano‐Serrano, Martha L.; Perret, Mathieu (2018). "The roles of dispersal and mass extinction in shaping palm diversity across the Caribbean". Journal of Biogeography. 45 (6): 1432–1443. doi:10.1111/jbi.13225. ISSN   1365-2699. S2CID   90347155.
  8. ↑ Sargent, Charles Sprague (1899). "New or Little Known North American Trees". Botanical Gazette. 27 (2): 81–94. doi: 10.1086/327795 . JSTOR   2465176.
  9. 1 2 Roncal, Julissa; Scott Zona; Carl E. Lewis (2008). "Molecular Phylogenetic Studies of Caribbean Palms (Arecaceae) and Their Relationships to Biogeography and Conservation". Botanical Review. 74 (1): 78–102. doi:10.1007/s12229-008-9005-9. S2CID   40119059.
  10. ↑ Govaerts, R.; J. Henderson; S.F. Zona; D.R. Hodel; A. Henderson (2006). "World Checklist of Arecaceae". The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Archived from the original on 2007-02-21. Retrieved 2009-06-13.
  11. ↑ Dransfield, John; Natalie W. Uhl; Conny B. Asmussen; William J. Baker; Madeline M. Harley; Carl E. Lewis (2005). "A New Phylogenetic Classification of the Palm Family, Arecaceae". Kew Bulletin. 60 (4): 559–69. JSTOR   25070242.
  12. ↑ "Coccothrinax argentata". Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Retrieved 2009-06-13.
  13. ↑ "Coccothrinax barbadensis". Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Retrieved 2009-06-13.
  14. ↑ Morici, Carlo; Raúl Verdecia Pérez (2006). "Coccothrinax torrida (Arecaceae), a new species from southeastern Cuba". Brittonia. 58 (2): 189–93. doi:10.1663/0007-196X(2006)58[189:CTAANS]2.0.CO;2. S2CID   21449854.
  15. ↑ "Fairchild Guide to Palms". Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. 2007-02-12. Archived from the original on 2007-02-12. Retrieved 2018-08-09.
  16. ↑ "Jardin Botanico Nacional de Cuba". Botanic Gardens Conservation International. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  17. ↑ "The Palmetum of Santa Cruz de Tenerife". International Palm Society. 2007-04-12. Archived from the original on 2007-04-12. Retrieved 2018-08-09.
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