Cryosophila

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Cryosophila
Cryosophila warscewiczii Inflorescence.jpg
Cryosophila warscewiczii at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Cryosophila warscewiczii, thorns of the Silver Star Palm. (11164016416).jpg
Root spines on the trunk of Cryosophila warscewiczii .
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Subfamily: Coryphoideae
Tribe: Cryosophileae
Genus: Cryosophila
Blume
Species

See text

Synonyms [1] :6

Cryosophila is a genus of medium-sized fan palms that range from central Mexico to northern Colombia. Species in the genus can be readily distinguished from related genera by their distinctive downward-pointing spines on the stem, which are actually modified roots. They are known as the "root spine palms".

Contents

Description

Cryosophila is a genus of medium-sized, single-stemmed (or rarely multi-stemmed) palms [1] :6 with fan-shaped (or palmate) leaves and spiny stems. [2] :39–41 The stems range in height from 0.5 to 15 metres (1.6 to 49.2 ft), with diameters between 4 and 20 centimetres (1.6 and 7.9 in). [1] :6 Plants have between five and 35 leaves with elongated petioles. The leaves are often whitish-grey on the lower surface. The whitish flowers are bisexual with six stamens and three carpels. The fruit are white and smooth, with a single seed. [2] :39–41

Cryosophila is distinguished from related genera by its long, branched spines which are derived from modified roots. These downward-pointing spines cover the trunk, often quite densely. [1] :2 The genus is one of the few palms which use modified roots as spines, and its spines are unlike any others in morphology or appearance. [1] :6 The density of spines varies from less than 25 over a 10 cm (3.9 in) length of stem in some species to others where the entire stem is covered by a dense mass of spines. [1] :13

Taxonomy

Cryosophileae  

Trithrinax

Itaya

Sabinaria

Chelyocarpus

Cryosophila

Schippia

Thrinax

Leucothrinax

Hemithrinax

Zombia

Coccothrinax

Simplified phylogeny of the Cryosophileae based on four nuclear genes and the matK plastid gene. [3]

In the first edition of Genera Palmarum (1987), Natalie Uhl and John Dransfield placed the genus Cryosophila in subfamily Coryphoideae, tribe Corypheae and subtribe Thrinacinae [4] :174–175 Subsequent phylogenetic analyses showed that the Old World and New World members of Thrinacinae are not closely related. As a consequence, Cryosophila and related genera were places in their own tribe, Cryosophileae. [5] Within this tribe, Cryosophila appears to be most closely related to the genus Schippia . [6]

History

The earliest botanical description of the species in the genus were made by Alexander von Humboldt, Aimé Bonpland and Carl Sigismund Kunth [1] :5–6 in 1816. [1] :53 They named two species, Corypha nana and Chamaerops mocini. Although these species were placed in different genera (both of which are now considered to be restricted to the Old World), today they are both thought to represent the same species— Cryosophila nana . In 1838 or 1839 Carl Ludwig Blume coined the name Cryosophila specifically for C. nana, but did not actually publish the combination and it was only validated in 1887 with the publication of Blume's combination by Carl E. Salomon in 1887. German botanist Hermann Wendland established a new genus, Acanthorrhiza, in 1869. He included two species in the genus, A. aculeata, [1] :5–6 which he transferred from Trithrinax where it had been placed by Danish botanist Frederik Michael Liebmann when he described it in 1853, [1] :53 and A. warscewiczii, for which Wendland provided the first description. [1] :5–6Acanthorrhiza aculeata was based on a specimen now considered to belong to C. nana, [1] :53 but was defined in such a way that it also included another species, C. stauracantha . It was not until 1935 that American botanist Harley Bartlett realised that A. aculeata was the same as the pair of species that had been described by Kunth. [1] :5–6

Both Corypha nana and Chamaerops mocini had been published at the same time in the same work, [1] :53 [7] which meant that Bartlett had to designate a basionym, the "original" validly published name for the species. Bartlett chose the former, and went on to describe three new species. Paul H. Allen described two new species in 1953, bringing the total number of species to seven. [1] :5–6 Based on Randall J. Evans' doctoral dissertation, Henderson and colleagues recognised nine species in the genus, although they expressed the concern that the fragmentation of populations by habitat destruction may have exaggerated the difference between remaining populations, leading to an overestimate in the number of species. [2] In his 1995 monograph on the genus, Evans recognised 10 species and two subspecies. [1] :1

Species

The genus consists of 10 known species [1] :1

Distribution and status

The genus Cryosophila ranges from central Mexico in the north to northern Colombia in the south. [1] :2–3 Several species in the genus are endangered, including Cryosophila williamsii which is, according to the IUCN Red List, extinct in the wild. [8] All species are palms of the forest understorey, and nine of the ten species are found in lowland humid or wet forests. The tenth species, C. nana, is a tree of tropical dry forests. [1] :2

Related Research Articles

<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.

<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>Cryosophila williamsii</i> Species of palm

Cryosophila williamsii, also known as Lago Yojoa palm or root-spine palm is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is found only in Honduras. It is threatened by habitat loss. Cryosophila williamsii is named in honor of prominent botanist Louis Otho Williams.

<i>Itaya</i> Species of plant

Itaya amicorum is a medium-size fan palm that is native to Brazil, Colombia and Peru. It is the only species in the genus Itaya. It was unknown to science until 1972, when it was discovered on the bank of the Itaya River in the Peruvian Amazon.

<i>Schippia</i> Genus of palms

Schippia concolor, the mountain pimento or silver pimeto, is a medium-sized palm species that is native to Belize and Guatemala. Named for its discoverer, Australian botanist William A. Schipp, the species is threatened by habitat loss. It is the sole species in the genus Schippia.

<i>Trithrinax</i> Genus of palms

Trithrinax is a genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Coryphoideae of the family Arecaceae. The name is derived from ancient Greek, where tri means three, and thrinax trident. It was named in 1837 by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, a German botanist and explorer.

<i>Korthalsia</i> Genus of palms

Korthalsia is a clustering genus of flowering plant in the palm family spread throughout Southeast Asia. It is a highly specialized rattan with some species known to have an intimate relationship with ants, hence the common name ant rattan. High-climbing and armed with spines, the genus is named for the Dutch botanist P. W. Korthals who first collected them from Indonesia.

<i>Mauritiella</i> Genus of palms

Mauritiella is a dioecious genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in South America where it is commonly called buriti. It is named after the similar and closely related genus Mauritia.

<i>Ceratolobus</i> Genus of palms

Ceratolobus was a dioecious genus of flowering plants in the palm family found in Southeast Asia, commonly called rotan. Its species are now included within the genus Calamus. They are only differentiated from close relatives like Korthalsia, Calamus, and Daemonorops by leaf sheath appendages or inflorescence variations. The Greek genus name combines "horn" and "capsule".

<i>Neonicholsonia</i> Genus of palms

Neonicholsonia is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family native to Central America. The sole species is Neonicholsonia watsonii. The genus and species names honor George Nicholson, a former curator of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and his successor William Watson.

<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">Corypheae</span> Tribe of palms

Corypheae is a tribe of palm trees in the subfamily Coryphoideae. In previous classifications, tribe Corypheae included four subtribes: Coryphinae, Livistoninae, Thrinacinae and Sabalinae, but recent phylogenetic studies have led to the genera within these subtribes being transferred into other tribes. Tribe Corypheae is now restricted to the genus Corypha alone.

<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.

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

Borasseae is a tribe in the palm subfamily Coryphoideae. The tribe ranges from southern Africa and Madagascar north through the Arabian Peninsula to India, Indochina, Indonesia and New Guinea. Several genera are restricted to islands in the Indian Ocean. The two largest genera, Hyphaene and Borassus, are also the most widespread.

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

Chuniophoeniceae is a tribe of palms in subfamily Coryphoideae of plant family Arecaceae. The four genera within the tribe are morphologically dissimilar and do not have overlapping distributions. Three of the genera are monotypic, while the fourth genus (Chuniophoenix) has three species.

<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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Evans, Randall J. (1995). "Systematics of Cryosophila (Palmae)". Systematic Botany Monographs. 46: 1–70. doi:10.2307/25027854. JSTOR   25027854.
  2. 1 2 3 Henderson, Andrew; Gloria Galeano; Rodrigo Bernal (1995). Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN   978-0-691-08537-1.
  3. 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.
  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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. Corypha nana on page 299 of Nova genera et species plantarum quas in peregrinatione ad plagam aequinoctialem orbis novi collegerunt Bonpland et Humboldt, Chamaerops mocini on page 300
  8. Linares, J. (2021). "Cryosophila williamsii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021: e.T30366A142381423. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T30366A142381423.es . Retrieved 17 November 2021.