| Latania | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Red latan palm | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Arecales |
| Family: | Arecaceae |
| Tribe: | Borasseae |
| Genus: | Latania Comm. ex Juss. |
| Type species | |
| Latania lontaroides | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Latania, commonly known as latan palm or latania palm, is a genus of flowering plant in the palm tree family, native to the Mascarene Islands in the western Indian Ocean. [1] [2]
The genus contains three species, one from each of the three major islands (including islets) in the chain. All species have been ranked as Endangered by the IUCN. [3]
| Image | Leaves | Common Name | Scientific name | Native Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  | blue latan palm, latanier de l'Ile Ronde | Latania loddigesii Mart. | Mauritius |
 |  | red latan palm, latanier de la Réunion | Latania lontaroides (Gaertn.) H.E.Moore | Réunion |
 |  | yellow latan palm, latanier de Rodrigues | Latania verschaffeltii Lem. | Rodrigues Island |
Latan palms are large, single-stemmed fan palms with separate male and female plants (dioecy); when the leaves fall, they leave scars on the trunks. Male flowers are small, in clusters, and emerge from within leathery bracts on the catkin-like inflorescences. Female flowers are larger, solitary and not concealed within bracts. The fruits contain 1-3 pyrenes, which are seeds enclosed within woody endocarps. [4] The endocarps have sculpted surfaces and the three species are readily distinguished from their pyrenes. [5]
Roystonea is a genus of eleven species of monoecious palms, native to the Neotropics, in the Caribbean, the adjacent coasts of Florida in the United States, Mexico, Central America and northern South America. Commonly known as the royal palms, the genus was named after Roy Stone, a U.S. Army engineer. It contains some of the most recognizable and commonly cultivated palms of tropical and subtropical regions.
Drakaea is a genus of 10 species in the plant family Orchidaceae commonly known as hammer orchids. All ten species only occur in the south-west of Western Australia. Hammer orchids are characterised by an insectoid labellum that is attached to a narrow, hinged stem, which holds it aloft. The stem can only hinge backwards, where the broadly winged column carries the pollen and stigma. Each species of hammer orchid is pollinated by a specific species of thynnid wasp. Thynnid wasps are unusual in that the female is flightless and mating occurs when the male carries a female away to a source of food. The labellum of the orchid resembles a female thynnid wasp in shape, colour and scent. Insect pollination involving sexual attraction is common in orchids but the interaction between the male thynnid wasp and the hammer orchid is unique in that it involves the insect trying to fly away with a part of the flower.
Pseudophoenix is a genus of palms which is native to the wider Caribbean. Three species of the four species are endemic to Hispaniola, while the fourth, P. sargentii, is widely distributed in the northern Caribbean, Florida, and the Yucatán Peninsula.
Attalea crassispatha is a palm which is endemic to southwest Haiti. The most geographically isolated member of the genus, it is considered a critically endangered species and has been called one of the rarest palms in the Americas.
Attalea is a large genus of palms native to Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America. This pinnately leaved, non-spiny genus includes both small palms lacking an aboveground stem and large trees. The genus has a complicated taxonomic history, and has often been split into four or five genera based on differences in the male flowers. Since the genera can only be distinguished on the basis of their male flowers, the existence of intermediate flower types and the existence of hybrids between different genera has been used as an argument for keeping them all in the same genus. This has been supported by recent molecular phylogenies.
Ceroxylon is a genus of flowering plants in the family Arecaceae, native to the Andes in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, known as Andean wax palms.
Plectocomia is a genus of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae native to China, the Himalayas, and Southeast Asia. Plants are dioecious, with male and female flowers produced on separate individuals. It contains the following known species:
Paschalococos disperta, the Rapa Nui palm or Easter Island palm, formerly Jubaea disperta, was the native coccoid palm species of Easter Island. It disappeared from the pollen record circa AD 1650.
Barcella is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in the States of Amazonas and Roraima in northwestern Brazil. The only known species is Barcella odora which is used by the Brazilian peoples in construction and for various thatched goods.
Calospatha is an extremely rare, monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in peninsular Malaysia, where it is referred to as rotan demuk. It is not common in collections, nor has it been found in the wild for several years, leading some to conclude that the species may have become extinct. While not specialized for the task, these dioecious palms are noted for their climbing habit. The genus name is a combination of two Greek words meaning 'beautiful' and 'spathe'.
Actinorhytis is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in Oceania and southeast Asia. The lone species, Actinorhytis calapparia is a rain forest inhabitant and has very large fruit. The genus name is from two Greek words meaning 'ray' and 'fold' which describe the endosperm of the seed.
Eremospatha is a genus of climbing flowering plants in the palm family found in tropical Africa. These rattans are uncommon in cultivation and poorly understood by taxonomists;. Closely related to Laccosperma, they differentiated by the near complete absence of bracts and bracteoles. The name is from Greek meaning "without a spathe".
Kerriodoxa elegans, the white backed palm, is the only species of palm tree in the genus Kerriodoxa, in the family Arecaceae.
Borassus heineanus is a species of a large solitary fan palm found only in northern New Guinea, in both Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, where it is threatened by habitat loss.
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.
The Ceroxyloideae are a subfamily of flowering plants in the palm family found mainly in the Americas with an outlying genus in each of Australia, Madagascar, and the Comoros. Recently revised, the former subfamily Phytelephantoideae was reduced to the tribal level and included, while the Hyophorbeae tribe was reassigned to Arecoideae; it now contains eight genera.
Dransfieldia is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family from western New Guinea where the lone species Dransfieldia micrantha grows in dense rain forest. Discovered in 1872, 134 years passed before DNA testing revealed its proper placement. With no close relatives, it is a delicate, pinnate-leaved palm named after John Dransfield, former palm expert at the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens.
John Dransfield is an honorary research fellow and former head of palm research at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom, as well as being an authority on the phylogenetic classification 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.
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.
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