Korthalsia

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Korthalsia
Korthalsia zippelii inat1.jpg
Korthalsia zippelii
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: Korthalsia
Blume [1]
Species

See text

Synonyms

Calamosagus Griff.

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. [2] High-climbing and armed with spines, the genus is named for the Dutch botanist P. W. Korthals who first collected them from Indonesia. [3]

Contents

Description

In young plants the trunks, petioles and rachises are covered in spines. Mature plants typically lose rachis and petiole spines but will retain trunks spines in its new growth. The suckering stems are small to mostly moderate and are among the few in the palm family that branch; among rattans it is the only one with splitting stems. The trunks are bare at the bottom but retain persistent leaf bases in its youngest parts; enlarged paper-like appendages, ocreas, form where the petioles meet the stem. The ocreas are usually grossly swollen and house ants. [2] Younger leaves are undivided with the occasional bifid apice. A truly pinnate leaf form comes in maturity and is accompanied by a barbed rachis extension which allows the palm to hook onto forest vegetation and climb to the canopy top where mature pinnae hang pendent. Also unique to the group are the rachis borne stalks, adapted for climbing, from which the leaflets emerge.

Sexually, they are hapaxanthic, another rare feature in palms, which results in the death of individual stems after flowering and fruiting has occurred. As hermaphrodites, the flowers are also uncommon with both male and female organs present in each. The inflorescence is short and thick, once or twice branched, with bisexual flowers hanging from long, furry stalks. Spherical to ovoid, the fruit is scaly and matures to orange, red or brown with one basally attached seed.

Fossilized pollen referable to this genus has been recovered in upper Miocene deposits in northwest Borneo; its long history, and its wide variety of unusual features may indicate its climbing habit evolved independently of other rattans. [2]

Bees are observed visitors to the flowers while the Oriental pied hornbill, Anthracoceros albirostris convexus feeds on the fruit. [2]

Species

Plants of the World Online currently includes: [4]

  1. Korthalsia angustifolia Blume
  2. Korthalsia bejaudii Gagnep. ex Humbert
  3. Korthalsia brassii Burret
  4. Korthalsia celebica Becc.
  5. Korthalsia cheb Becc.
  6. Korthalsia concolor Burret
  7. Korthalsia debilis Blume
  8. Korthalsia echinometra Becc.
  9. Korthalsia ferox Becc.
  10. Korthalsia flagellaris Miq.
  11. Korthalsia furcata Becc.
  12. Korthalsia furtadoana J.Dransf.
  13. Korthalsia hispida Becc.
  14. Korthalsia jala J.Dransf.
  15. Korthalsia junghuhnii Miq.
  16. Korthalsia laciniosa (Griff.) Mart.
  17. Korthalsia lanceolata J.Dransf.
  18. Korthalsia merrillii Becc.
  19. Korthalsia minor A.J.Hend. & N.Q.Dung
  20. Korthalsia paucijuga Becc.
  21. Korthalsia rigida Blume - type species
  22. Korthalsia robusta Blume
  23. Korthalsia rogersii Becc.
  24. Korthalsia rostrata Blume
  25. Korthalsia scaphigeroides Becc.
  26. Korthalsia scortechinii Becc.
  27. Korthalsia tenuissima Becc.
  28. Korthalsia zippelii Blume

Distribution and habitat

The genus is concentrated around the Sunda Shelf's perhumid region with northern outliers in Indochina the Andaman Islands and Burma and south to Sulawesi and New Guinea. They are confined to low land or hilly tropical forest being conspicuously absent in montane regions; some are narrowly limited to ultrabasic rock while others are adept at colonizing cleared forests.

Relationship with ants

Ants of the genus Camponotus have an intimate relationship with several Korthalsia species, occupying chambers in the fibrous and swollen ocreas at the leaf bases. Here, the ants "farm" scale insects which feed on the palm’s phloem cells, and produce a sweet dew the ants feed on. The ants also beat their abdomens against the dry leaf bases to create a precautionary alarm rattle before attacking en masse. The relationship seems to be mutual, protecting the palms from herbivores. [2]

The carnivorous plant Nepenthes bicalcarata as well as Macaranga caladiifolia and Clerodendrum fistulosum , grow alongside some Korthalsias in Borneo, and also feature swollen appendages in which ants nest. [5] Other palm genera feature species known to harbour ants, including Laccosperma , Eremospatha and Calamus . [6]

Cultivation and uses

Their rarity in cultivation is likely due to their extreme spininess and their particular tropical needs. [3] The stems and sheaths are made into rope, baskets and binding in house construction, [2] but, unlike many other rattans they are irregularly knobby and scarred, which generally excludes their use in worked and polished furniture. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Areca</i> Genus of palms

Areca is a genus of 51 species of palms in the family Arecaceae, found in humid tropical forests from the islands of the Philippines, Malaysia and India, across Southeast Asia to Melanesia. The generic name Areca is derived from a name used locally on the Malabar Coast of India.

<i>Calamus</i> (palm) Genus of flowering plants in the palm family Arecaceae

Calamus is a genus of flowering plants in the palm family Arecaceae that are among several genera known as rattan palms. There are an estimated 400 species in this genus, all native to tropical and subtropical Asia, Africa, and Australia.

<i>Daemonorops</i> Historically recognized genus of palms

Daemonorops was a genus of rattan palms in the family Arecaceae. Its species are now included within the genus Calamus.

<i>Licuala</i> Genus of palms

Licuala is a genus of palms, in the tribe Trachycarpeae, commonly found in tropical forests of southern China, Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, New Guinea and the western Pacific Ocean islands.

<i>Pinanga</i> Genus of palms

Pinanga is a genus of flowering plant of the palm family in the subtribe Arecinae. It is native to eastern and southern Asia across to New Guinea.

<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>Heterospathe</i> Genus of palms

Heterospathe is a monoecious genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in Oceania, where it is called sagisi palm. With 39 species, Heterospathe is named from a Greek combination of "various" and "spathe", which describes the two distinct bract types.

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".

<i>Lytocaryum</i> Genus of palms

Lytocaryum is a monoecious genus of flowering plant in the palm family endemic to the Atlantic coast of 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>Myrialepis</i> Genus of palms

Myrialepis is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family, the single species, Myrialepis paradoxa, native to Southeast Asia. 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".

<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".

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 was a dioecious genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in Malaysia and Borneo. Its species are now included within the genus Calamus. 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.

Calamus bousigonii, is a liana, a climbing plant, and part of the Arecaceae, or palm, family. It is a member of the subfamily Calamoideae, whose members are usually called rattans in English,

References

  1. Blume, Rumphia 2:166. ("1836") 1843
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 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
  3. 1 2 Robert Lee Riffle; Paul Craft (2003). An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms. Timber Press. ISBN   978-0-88192-558-6.
  4. Plants of the World Online: Korthalsia Blume (retrieved 5 May 2021)
  5. Odoardo Beccari (1904). Wanderings in the Great Forests of Borneo Travels and Researches of a Naturalist in Sarawak.
  6. Dransfield, John (2008-03-24). "Taxonomy, biology and ecology of rattan".