Chamaedorea verecunda Grayum & Hodel, Principes 35: 135 (1991)

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Distribution

Map uses TDWG level 3 distributions (https://github.com/tdwg/wgsrpd)
Panamá present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
PANAMA. Chiriqui. (Hodel, D. 1992. Chamaedorea Palms, The Species and Their Cultivation. The International Palm Society.)A

Discussion

  • C. verecunda is known from only a few collections from western Panama. It is one of the most distinctive of the numerous, dwarf, bifidleaved, cloud-forest Chamaedorea species known from Central America. Its most distinctive characters are the very small, deeply bifid, blue- and/or gray-green leaf blades; spicate inflorescences; and nodding, relatively large flowers that mature in a markedly progressive manner from the apex to the base of the axis.
    Chamaedorea verecunda is closest to C. correae and C. guntheriana, both from similar habitats in central Panama. C. correae differs in its larger size, thicker and coarser leaf blades, and staminate inflorescence with normally 2-3 rachillae and considerably smaller flowers. C. guntheriana differs in its thicker, usually pinnate leaves and branched staminate inflorescences with smaller flowers that mature in a markedly progressive manner from the base to the apex of the axis.
    Other than a few plants in the research collection in Los Angeles, C. verecunda is not cultivated.? (Hodel, D. 1992. Chamaedorea Palms, The Species and Their Cultivation. The International Palm Society.)A

Biology And Ecology

  • Wet forest near the Continental Divide; 1,200-1,400 m elevation. (Hodel, D. 1992. Chamaedorea Palms, The Species and Their Cultivation. The International Palm Society.)A

Etymology

  • From the Latin verecundus meaning modest or shy, in reference to the small habit, nodding flowers, and apparent scarcity. (Hodel, D. 1992. Chamaedorea Palms, The Species and Their Cultivation. The International Palm Society.)A

Description

  • Habit: solitary, decumbent then erect, 50-75 cm tall. Stem: 3.5-5 mm diam., creeping, to 1 m long, green, smooth, ringed, internodes 1.7-3.8 cm long, often covered with persistent sheaths. Leaves: 8-11, spreading, bifid; sheath 2.2-5.3 cm long, obliquely open apically, green, prominently striate-nerved; petiole 1.7- 4.4 cm long, flat and green above, rounded and green below, densely white-spotted; rachis 2.75-5.4 cm long, slightly angled and green above, rounded and green below; blade 9-16 x 7-10 cm, obovate, incised apically to 1/2 or more its length, blue-gray nearly iridescent green, margins toothed especially toward apex, 6-9 primary nerves on each side of rachis, these sharply angled on both surfaces, dark green (darker than blade). Inflorescences: interfoliar, erect, spicate. Staminate with peduncle 13-19 cm long; bracts 2-3; rachis or flower-bearing portion to 6.5-9.7 cm long. Pistillate with peduncle 14-22 cm long; bracts 2-3; rachis or flower-bearing portion to 4-5.5 cm long, orange in fruit. Flowers: yellow, nodding, maturing in a markedly progressive manner from the apex to base of axis. Staminate 3.6-5.1 mm long; calyx 0.5-1 x 1.7-2 mm, truncate or merely notched apically, hyaline, nerveless; petals 2.6-3.3 x 1.8-1.9 mm, rounded to obtuse or subacute, ovate, valvate in bud, free at anthesis, narrowed basally into a tube 1.1-1.6 mm high, forming a narrowly campanulate corolla, virtually nerveless; stamens with anthers 1.2-1.5 mm long, narrowly ovate, ± narrowed apically, filaments very short, 0.1-0.4 mm long, adnate basally to pistillode; pistillode prominent, 2.3-2.8 mm high, greatly exceeding stamens, clearly differentiated and lobed apically. Pistillate with calyx similar to that of the staminate, 0.4-0.5 x 1.6-1.7 mm, truncate or ± deeply undulate apically; petals 1.5-1.7 x 1.6-1.8 mm, broadly ovate, imbricate, obscurely 57- nerved, rather abruptly narrowed basally into a tube 0.4 mm long adnate to basal part of pistil, forming a broadly campanulate to suburceolate corolla; staminodes lacking; pistil (part above insertion of petals) 1.8-2.2 mm high, narrowed apically, styles short or lacking, stigma lobes separate. Fruits: 1 cm long, black. (Hodel, D. 1992. Chamaedorea Palms, The Species and Their Cultivation. The International Palm Society.)A

Materials Examined

  • PANAMA. Chiriqui: de Nevers 8807 (CAS); Hammel 2124.2254 (MO); Hodel 1122 (BH, PMA); Kirkbride 942 (MO). (Hodel, D. 1992. Chamaedorea Palms, The Species and Their Cultivation. The International Palm Society.)A

Bibliography

    A. Hodel, D. 1992. Chamaedorea Palms, The Species and Their Cultivation. The International Palm Society.
    B. World Checklist of Arecaceae