Myrialepis

Last updated

Myrialepis
Rotan kertong (Myrialepis paradoxa).jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Subfamily: Calamoideae
Tribe: Calameae
Genus: Myrialepis
Beccari [1]
Species:
M. paradoxa
Binomial name
Myrialepis paradoxa
Synonyms [2]
  • BejaudiaGagnep.
  • Calamus paradoxusKurz
  • Palmijuncus paradoxus(Kurz) Kuntze
  • Plectocomiopsis paradoxa(Kurz) Becc.
  • Myrialepis scortechiniiBecc.
  • Plectocomiopsis annulataRidl.
  • Plectocomiopsis scortechinii(Becc.) Ridl.
  • Plectocomiopsis floribundaBecc.
  • Bejaudia cambodiensisGagnep.
  • Myrialepis floribunda(Becc.) Gagnep.

Myrialepis is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family, the single species,Myrialepis paradoxa, native to Southeast Asia. [3] The genus name is a combination of the Greek words meaning "innumerable" and "scale", a description of the fruit, and the epithet is Latin for "paradox".

Contents

Description

The trunks are clustering and climbing at 7 cm wide and are armed with whorls of sharp, golden spines. Reaching high into the canopy, the red to brown stems retain persistent leaf sheaths in its new growth but become bare toward the base, exposing conspicuous rings of leaf scars. Each mature leaf is comparatively large at 3 m, pinnate, and carried on armed petioles, with widely and regularly spaced, dark green leaflets. The spiny rachis extends well beyond the pinnae and is accompanied by pairs of recurved barbs adapted for climbing. [4]

Dioecious and hapaxanthic, male and female flowers are borne on separate plants, and the completion of flowering results in the death of the stem. The inflorescence is much branched, 60 cm long, and protrudes from the top of the trunk, accompanied by reduced leaves. The pistillate flowers are twice as big as the staminate, but otherwise similar, with the former producing shiny green to brown fruit, irregularly covered in tiny scales, each with one seed.

Distribution and habitat

This palm is found across Assam, Indochina, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Sumatra, Vietnam and peninsular Malaysia up to 1000 m in elevation. [2] Forming large, dense colonies they occupy rain forest, rain forest clearings, and river banks.

Uses

Being somewhat disfigured, the trunks are not used in furniture construction but are used for simple thatched basketry. [4] The palm is colloquially called rotan kertong, or simply rattan in Malaysia and Singapore. [3] Names in Cambodia include phdau snaô, phdau miëhs and traëh ach' moën, the stalks of the palm are used in basketry, to make sticks, and to make rope. [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Actinorhytis</i> Genus of palms

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.

<i>Dictyocaryum</i> Genus of palms

Dictyocaryum is a monoecious genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in South America. It is closely related to the genus Iriartea; they are commonly called araque or palma real. As many as eleven species have been described but this number is reduced to three in most current accounts. The genus name translates from two Greek words meaning "net" and "nut", describing the thick network of raphe fibers around the seed.

<i>Eleiodoxa</i> Genus of palms

Eleiodoxa is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in Southeast Asia. The only species, Eleiodoxa conferta, is a dioecious, swamp-dwelling plant, commonly called by Malay as asam kelubi or asam paya. While five species names have been published, the other four are usually recognized as synonyms of the lectotype E. conferta. The genus is named from two Greek words meaning "water" and "glory" and the species name is Latin for "congested", an allusion to the flower spike.

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".

<i>Eugeissona</i> Genus of palms from Southeast Asia

Eugeissona is a clustering genus of flowering plant in the palm family native to Borneo, Thailand and Malaysia. The six monoecious species provide a wide range of local uses and are commonly called bertam or wild Bornean sago. The genus is the sole representative of the Eugeissoninae having very few obvious relatives; the hermaphrodite and staminate flowers are also found in Metroxylon, however the other specialized characteristics are unique suggesting an early split and differentiation from other members of the Calameae. Fossilized pollen belonging to these plants has been recovered in the lower and middle Miocene deposits in Sarawak. The name is from two Greek words meaning "good" and "roof", due to their common use in roof thatching.

<i>Laccospadix</i> Genus of palms

Laccospadix is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm endemic to Queensland. Only one species is known, Laccospadix australasicus, commonly called Atherton palm or Queensland kentia. The two Greek words from which it is named translate to "reservoir" and "spadix".

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.

Laccosperma is a clustering genus of flowering plant in the family palm found in tropical Africa. Poorly studied and rarely cultivated, they are closely related to the genus Eremospatha and with it form a tribe in the Calameae characterized by dyads of hermaphrodite flowers. The genus name combines the Greek words for "reservoir" and "seed".

Leopoldinia is a mostly monoecious genus of flowering plant in the palm family from northern South America, where they are known as jará palm or pissava palm. The two known species are commercially important, especially L. piassaba, which yields sustenance and construction material. The genus is named for Maria Leopoldina, archduchess of Austria, and Brazilian empress.

Lepidocaryum is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family from South America where the lone species, Lepidocaryum tenue, is commonly called poktamui. Nine species names have been published but palm taxonomists agree that just one variable species includes them all. The most reduced member of the Lepidocaryeae, it is similar in appearance to three closely related genera, Mauritia, Mauritiella, and Lytocaryum. The genus name combines the Greek words for "scale" and "nut" and the species epithet is Latin for "thin".

<i>Lytocaryum</i> Genus of palms

Lytocaryum is a monoecious genus of flowering plant in the palm family endemic to Brazil where 4 species are known. Palms once classified as Microcoelum are herein included; the genus is closely related to Syagrus, from which it is differentiated only by abundant tomentum, strongly versatile anthers, and slight epicarp, mesocarp, and endocarp differences. The name is Greek for "loose" and "nut".

<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 is a dioecious genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in Southeast Asia, commonly called rotan. 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".

Nenga is a monoecious genus of flowering plant in the palm family. It is native to Southeast Asia and commonly called pinang palm. N. gajah is the aberration in the genus with its short internodes, marcescent leaves and interfoliar inflorescence, a combination of traits seen in a few species of the closely related Pinanga and Areca palms. The genus name is based on a corruption of a Javanese term for a plant now classified within Pinanga.

Oncocalamus is a monoecious genus of flowering plants in the palm family found in western Africa. The genus is the lone member of the Oncocalaminae; once placed with the vegetatively similar Eremospatha and Laccosperma in the Ancistrophyllinae, it is now isolated based on their unusual flowers and arrangement. Such a placement argues for a long and complex evolutionary process in the Calamoideae with heavy extinction rates. The Greek genus name combines "horn" and "capsule".

<i>Oraniopsis</i> Genus of palms

Oraniopsis is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family from Queensland, Australia, where the only known species, Oraniopsis appendiculata, grows in mountainous rain forest. Dioecious and extremely slow growing, the name means "similar to Orania" and the Latin epithet translates to "appendaged".

Plectocomiopsis is a dioecious genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in Indochina, Malaysia, Borneo and Sumatra. Hapaxanthic and armed with spines, they are a climbing rattan, closely related to the Myrialepis palms. The name is Greek for "similar to Plectocomia", another close relative.

Pogonotium is a dioecious genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in Malaysia and Borneo. Its close relatives are climbing rattans and while partially armed with climbing apparatus, its habit is sprawling and leaning but not effective climbing. The reduced inflorescence nestled between the auricles is unusual and distinguishes it from similar relatives like Calamus, Daemonorops and Ceratolobus. The name is Greek meaning "bearded".

Retispatha is a rare, monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family endemic to Borneo, where the sole species, Retispatha dumetosa, is known as wi tebu bruang or "the bear's sugar cane". The name combines Latin and Greek words meaning "network" and "spathe", and the species epithet means "bushy". While classified with other rattans, they retain only superficial climbing organs; they sprawl and lean but are not true climbers.

<i>Synechanthus</i> Genus of palms

Synechanthus is a monoecious genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in Mexico, Central and South America. Commonly called bola, palmilla, or jelly bean palm, they are closely related to members of Chamaedorea, only distinguished by their flower and fruit form. The Greek genus name is a combination of "united" and "flower".

References

  1. Beccari in J.D. Hooker, The Flora of British India 6:480. 1893.
  2. 1 2 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  3. 1 2 Riffle, Robert L. and Craft, Paul (2003) An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms. Portland: Timber Press. ISBN   0-88192-558-6 / ISBN   978-0-88192-558-6
  4. 1 2 Uhl, Natalie W. and Dransfield, John (1987) Genera Palmarum - A classification of palms based on the work of Harold E. Moore. Lawrence, Kansas: Allen Press. ISBN   0-935868-30-5 / ISBN   978-0-935868-30-2
  5. Pauline Dy Phon (2000). Plants Used In Cambodia/Plantes utilisées au Cambodge. Phnom Penh: Imprimerie Olympic. p. 431.