Eremospatha
| Eremospatha | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Arecales |
| Family: | Arecaceae |
| Subfamily: | Calamoideae |
| Tribe: | Lepidocaryeae |
| Genus: | Eremospatha (G. Mann&H. Wendl.)H. Wendl.[1] |
Eremospathais agenusof climbingflowering plantsin thepalmfamily found in tropicalAfrica.[2]Theserattansare uncommon in cultivation and poorly understood by taxonomists. Closely related toLaccosperma,they are differentiated by the near complete absence of bracts and bracteoles.[3]The name is fromGreekmeaning 'without aspathe'.
Description
[edit]The slender, high-climbing trunks are naturally clustering and can reach up to 45 m (148 ft) in length. Thepinnateleaves range from 30 cm (12 in) to 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) on short, armed petioles; the rachis, leaf margins and cirri are also armed with spines. They are hermaphroditic, with both male and female reproductive organs present in eachflower.The pale blooms are fragrant and produce a red to brown, scalyfruit,each containing one to threeseeds.[4]
Distribution and habitat
[edit]These palms are native to therain forestof west Africa, theCongo Basin,and toTanzaniawhere they grow inswampsand alongside rivers.
Species
[edit]- Eremospatha barendiiSunderl.- Cameroon
- Eremospatha cabrae(De Wild. & T.Durand) De Wild.- Zaire, Congo-Brazzaville, Cabinda, Gabon, Central African Republic
- Eremospatha cuspidata(G.Mann & H.Wendl.) H.Wendl.- Zaire, Congo-Brazzaville, Cabinda, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Central African Republic, Angola, Zambia
- Eremospatha dransfieldiiSunderl.- Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana
- Eremospatha haullevilleanaDe Wild.- Cameroon, Zaire, Congo-Brazzaville, Cabinda, Gabon, Central African Republic, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania
- Eremospatha hookeri(G.Mann & H.Wendl.) H.Wendl.- Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea
- Eremospatha laurentiiDe Wild.- Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Cameroon, Zaire, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea
- Eremospatha macrocarpaSchaedtler- Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone
- Eremospatha quinquecostulataBecc.- Nigeria, Cameroon
- Eremospatha tessmannianaBecc.- Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea
- Eremospatha wendlandianaDammer ex Becc.- Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Cabinda
References
[edit]- ^H.A. Wendland, Kerchove de Denterghem, Les Palmiers 244. 1878
- ^abKew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
- ^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.ISBN0-935868-30-5/ISBN978-0-935868-30-2
- ^Riffle, Robert L. and Craft, Paul (2003)An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms.Portland: Timber Press.ISBN0-88192-558-6/ISBN978-0-88192-558-6
- ^Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J. (2005). World Checklist of Palms: 1-223. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
