Key thatch palm | |
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Leucothrinax morrisii in the Florida Keys. Photo by Carl E. Lewis. | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Clade: | Commelinids |
Order: | Arecales |
Family: | Arecaceae |
Subfamily: | Coryphoideae |
Tribe: | Cryosophileae |
Genus: | Leucothrinax C.Lewis & Zona |
Species: | L. morrisii |
Binomial name | |
Leucothrinax morrisii | |
Synonyms [3] | |
Thrinax morrisiiH.Wendl. Contents |
Leucothrinax morrisii, the Key thatch palm, [4] is a small palm which is native to the Greater Antilles (except Jamaica), northern Lesser Antilles, The Bahamas and Florida and the Florida Keys in the United States.
Until 2008 it was known as Thrinax morrisii. It was split from the genus Thrinax after phylogenetic studies showed that its inclusion in Thrinax would render that genus paraphyletic. The generic name combines leuco (in reference to the whitish colour of its flowering stalks and the undersides of its leaves) [5] with thrinax.
Leucothrinax morrisii is known as the "Key thatch palm" or the "brittle thatch palm" in the United States. [6] In Anguilla it is called the "broom palm" or "buffalo-top", in The Bahamas, miraguano in Cuba and palma de escoba in Puerto Rico. [7] Other common names include "small-fruited thatch palm", yaray, pandereta, palma de petate, palma de cogollo, guano de sierra, and palmita. [6]
Leucothrinax morrisii is a palmate-leaved palm with solitary brown or grey stems [6] 1–11 metres (3–36 ft) tall and 5–35 centimetres (2–14 in) in diameter. [7] Leaves are pale blue-green or yellow-green, [6] whitish on the undersides. [5] Petioles are 27–84 cm (0.9–2.8 ft) long with split petioles. The leaflets are 33–75 cm (1.1–2.5 ft) long and 2.3–4.8 cm (1–2 in) wide. The inflorescences extend beyond the leaves and are 55–100 cm (1.8–3.3 ft) long. The fruit are white, and turn yellow as they mature. [6]
Leucothrinax morrisii is native to the Florida mainland and Keys, the Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola (in the Dominican Republic and Haiti), Puerto Rico, [3] Navassa Island, [8] Saint Barthélemy, both the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. [7]
It is found in dry, deciduous forests and scrub and coastal areas. [7] In the Florida Keys it grows at the edge of hardwood hammocks and in pinelands, while in Puerto Rico, it is found on cliffs and on limestone and ultramafic ridges. It can tolerate drought, and frequent salt spray. [6]
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Simplified phylogeny of the Cryosophileae based on four nuclear genes and the matK plastid gene. [9] |
Leucothrinax is a monotypic genus—it includes only one species, L. morrisii. The species was originally described by German botanist Hermann Wendland, who placed it in the genus Thrinax .
In the first edition of Genera Palmarum (1987), Natalie Uhl and John Dransfield placed the genus Thrinax in the subfamily Coryphoideae, the tribe Corypheae and the subtribe Thrinacinae [10] using Harold E. Moore's 1973 classification of the palm family. [11] Subsequent phylogenetic analysis showed that the Old World and New World members of the Thrinacinae were not closely related. As a consequence of this, Thrinax and related genera were placed in their own tribe, Cryosophileae. [12] A study of the phylogenetic relationships among Caribbean palms showed that the species then known as Thrinax morrisii was most closely related to Coccothrinax , Hemithrinax and Zombia , with the remainder of the genus Thinax being a sister group to this clade. [13] Since the continued inclusion of this genus would render Thrinax paraphyletic, it was split off into a new genus, Leucothrinax. [14] [15]
Stems of the plant are used for poles and the leaves are used for thatch and weaving. [7]
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 was described as recently as 2017. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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".
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.
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.
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.
Archontophoenicinae is a botanical subtribe consisting of four genera of palms, namely Archontophoenix from Queensland and New South Wales and Actinokentia, Chambeyronia and Kentiopsis from New Caledonia. Phylogenetic relationships between the four genera are unresolved.
Sabal causiarum, commonly known as the Puerto Rico palmetto or Puerto Rican hat palm, is a species of palm which is native to Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and the British Virgin Islands. As its common and scientific names suggest, its leaves are used in the manufacture of "straw" hats.
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.
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.
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.
Prestoea acuminata var. montana is a perennial palm in the family Arecaceae.
Caryoteae is a tribe in the palm family Arecaceae, distributed across Southeast Asia, from southern India and Sri Lanka east to Vanuatu and northernmost Queensland, Australia. It was long considered a member of subfamily Arecoideae on the basis of its inflorescences, which resemble those of tribe Iriarteeae, and the flowers arranged in triads, which are common across Arecoideae. However, phylogenetic studies based on DNA repeatedly link Caryoteae to subfamily Coryphoideae. Caryoteae do have leaves with induplicate folds, a feature found in most Coryphoid palms, but unlike most Coryphoideae, the leaves are pinnate or bipinnate (Caryota). Phoenix is the only other Coryphoid genus with induplicate, pinnate leaves.
Thrinax radiata, also known as the Florida thatch palm, is a medium to slow growing palm in the family Arecaceae. It is native to many Caribbean islands, Mexico, Central America, and far southern Florida. Its natural habitat is sandy, calcareous soil in coastal areas.
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.
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.