Pholidostachys H.Wendl. ex Hook.f., Gen. Pl. 3: 915 (1883)

Primary tabs

https://media.e-taxonomy.eu/palmae/photos/palm_tc_152726_1.jpg

Distribution

Map uses TDWG level 3 distributions (https://github.com/tdwg/wgsrpd)
Brazil North present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Colombia present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Costa Rica present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Ecuador present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Nicaragua present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Panamá present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Peru present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Four species from Costa Rica to Peru. (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Discussion

  • Pholidostachys differs from other Geonomateae mainly in the androecium of six stamens with filaments united in a tube basally, and free and awl-shaped distally. The short to moderate stem, long petioles, and often irregularly divided leaves give it a distinctive appearance in the forest. (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Diagnosis

  • Small or moderate pinnate-leaved palms from Central and South America, with distinctive long slender petioles. (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Biology And Ecology

  • All species are found in the understory of tropical rain forest. (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Common Name

  • Common names not recorded. (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Etymology

  • Pholidos — scale, stachys — an ear of wheat, or in botanical usage, a spike, referring to the pit bracts on the rachillae. (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Uses

  • Common names not recorded. (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Description

  • Small to moderate, solitary, unarmed, pleonanthic, monoecious palms. Stems slender, erect, closely ringed with leaf scars. Leaves pinnate, marcescent; sheath tubular at first, later splitting opposite the petiole, not forming a crownshaft, thin, coriaceous, margins fibrous, lightly hairy adaxially, with dense reddish-brown tomentum abaxially; petiole long, very slender, adaxially shallowly to deeply grooved, abaxially narrowly ridged, V-shaped in cross-section, ± tomentose, becoming glabrous; blade short, leaflets broadly lanceolate, tapering to a point, median leaflets much longer than the proximal or distal, all leaflets several-fold, folds narrow, midribs ca. 4–5, elevated adaxially, interfold ribs conspicuous abaxially, blade adaxially lightly tomentose near the base, abaxially sparsely covered in scales and a dense layer of wax, transverse veinlets inconspicuous. Inflorescence solitary, protandrous, erect, becoming pendulous and infrafoliar, spicate or digitately or paniculately branched to 1(–3) orders; peduncle short, rounded or ± flattened; prophyll short, tubular, adaxially flat and 2-keeled, keels toothed, inserted near the base of the peduncle, splitting abaxially at the tip, irregularly covered in dark reddish tomentum; peduncular bract tubular with a short solid tip, much longer (3 or more times) than the prophyll, inserted well above the prophyll, splitting adaxially near the tip, caducous or marcescent, thinly covered in dark red tomentum; other peduncular bracts several, small, spirally inserted, the lowest often shortly tubular, the others open, stiff, pointed; rachis lacking, very short, or elongate, bearing spirally inserted, short, stiff, irregular bracts each subtending a rachilla; rachillae bearing obovate bracts, alternating in 5–11 closely appressed rows, ± immersed in the axis, basally tomentose, margins thin, sometimes overlapping the margins of bracts of adjacent rows, each bract subtending a triad of flowers enclosed in a pit, floral bracteoles 3, narrow, keeled, chaffy, sepal-like. Staminate flowers only about 1/2 exserted from the pit at anthesis; sepals 3, imbricate basally, keeled, chaffy, truncate or rounded to subacute and often toothed at the apex; petals 3, ovate with pointed tips, connate ca. 1/2 their length, valvate, briefly adnate to the receptacle basally, tips chaffy; stamens 6, filaments fleshy, connate for 2/3 their length in a thick tanniniferous tube, free parts angled–awl-shaped, anthers sagittate, medifixed, erect in bud, exserted and spreading at anthesis, introrse, connectives with pointed tips; pistillodes 3, minute, pointed. Pollen ellipsoidal, usually ± symmetric; aperture a distal sulcus; ectexine tectate or semi-tectate, finely perforate-rugulate, or finely reticulate with slightly ridged supratectal spines, aperture margin similar; infratectum columellate; longest axis 35–42 µm [2/4]. Pistillate flowers with only free parts of staminodes and stigmas exserted from the pit at anthesis; sepals 3, free, narrow unequal, imbricate basally, truncate or rounded to subacute, often toothed apically, keeled, chaffy; petals 3, fleshy and connate to about 1/3 to 1/2 their length basally (or perhaps sometimes less), with valvate, ± chaffy, free tips; staminodes 6–8, fleshy, connate in a tube 2/3 their length, adnate to the corolla for a short distance basally, the free portions angled, awl-shaped, exserted and spreading at anthesis; gynoecium trilocular, triovulate, with a central elongate style terminating in 3 exserted, spreading, slender stigmas, ovules anatropous, only one maturing. Fruit moderate, obovoid, purple when ripe with basal remains of abortive carpels and stigmas; epicarp smooth, mesocarp with outer tannin layer, fleshy granulate, with thick, curved and anastomosing included fibres, endocarp tough, whitish, thinner over the hilum, with a small operculum over the embryo. Seed ellipsoidal, rapheal lines arched from the rounded hilum over the apex to the base, endosperm homogeneous, sometimes with a central hollow; embryo basal. Germination adjacent ligular; eophyll bifid. Cytology not studied. (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Anatomy

  • Leaf (Tomlinson 1961), leaf and stem (Wessels Boer 1968), root (Seubert 1998a, 1998b), and flower (Stauffer and Endress 2003). (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Fossil record

  • No generic records found. (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Relationships

  • Pholidostachys is monophyletic with high support (Asmussen 1999b, Roncal et al. 2005). The genus has been resolved as sister to Welfia with moderate support (Asmussen et al. 2006, Baker et al. in review). (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Taxonomic accounts

  • Wessels Boer (1968) and Henderson et al. (1995). (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Use Record

  • Pholidostachys H.Wendl. ex Hook.f.: Artesanal. (Albán, J. 1994: La mujer y las plantas útiles silvestres en la comunidad Cocama-Cocamilla de los ríos Samiria y Marañon.)
    Use CategoryUse Sub CategoryPlant PartHuman GroupEthnic GroupCountry
    Utensils and ToolsOtherNot specifiedIndigenousCocamaPeru
    Utensils and ToolsOtherNot specifiedIndigenousCocamaPeru
  • Pholidostachys H.Wendl. ex Hook.f.: Artesanal. (Albán, J. 1994: La mujer y las plantas útiles silvestres en la comunidad Cocama-Cocamilla de los ríos Samiria y Marañon.)
    Use CategoryUse Sub CategoryPlant PartHuman GroupEthnic GroupCountry
    Utensils and ToolsOtherNot specifiedIndigenousCocamaPeru
    Utensils and ToolsOtherNot specifiedIndigenousCocamaPeru

Bibliography

    A. Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms
    B. World Checklist of Arecaceae