Aiphanes Willd., Samml. Deutsch. Abh. Koningl. Akad. Wiss. Berlin 1803: 250 (1806)

Primary tabs

https://media.e-taxonomy.eu/palmae/photos/palm_tc_5114_3.jpg

Distribution

Map uses TDWG level 3 distributions (https://github.com/tdwg/wgsrpd)
Bolivia present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Brazil North present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Colombia present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Costa Rica present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Dominican Republic present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Ecuador present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Panamá present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Peru present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Puerto Rico present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Trinidad-Tobago present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Venezuela present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Windward Is. present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Twenty-four species: a few in the West Indies, the rest in northern South America, especially diverse in Colombia. (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Discussion

  • Aiphanes is unlikely to be confused with any other genus. The only other member of the Bactridinae that has praemorse leaflets is Bactris caryotifolia, which has a very different inflorescence with connate sepals in flowers of both sexes. (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Diagnosis

  • Very spiny solitary or clustering pinnate-leaved palms from South America and the Caribbean, instantly recognisable by the praemorse concolourous leaflets. (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

  • Found in a variety of habitats in the undergrowth of tropical rain forest at low elevations to montane 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

  • Ruffle palm, coyure (Aiphanes acanthophylla). (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Etymology

  • Derivation not explained by author, but possibly from aeiphanes – ever-shining or ever-appearing. (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Uses

  • Fruits of A. horrida are eaten; many species are very decorative. (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 or clustered, sometimes stoloniferous, spiny, pleonanthic, monoecious palms. Stem often very short, the plant then ± acaulescent, or erect, rarely branching aerially, becoming bare, conspicuously ringed with leaf scars and usually bearing horizontal rows or rings of robust black spines. Leaves few to numerous, pinnate or entire bifid, spirally arranged, distichous or tristichous (Aiphanes leiostachys) neatly abscising; sheaths tubular at first, soon disintegrating into a weft of fibres and broad shreds, usually densely spiny and/or tomentose, distally prolonged into a tubular, tattering ligule; petiole short to long, adaxially channelled in proximal part, flattened or angled distally, abaxially rounded or angled, usually variously golden-yellow to black-spiny and sometimes also tomentose, the spines themselves often bearing caducous tomentum; rachis (or axis of entire leaf) adaxially ± angled, abaxially rounded, often variously spiny and/or tomentose or glabrous; blade where undivided, with a shallow to deep apical notch, the margins praemorse, the main ribs unarmed or spiny on abaxial and/or adaxial surfaces, leaflets, where blade divided, narrow lanceolate to broad rhomboid, regularly arranged or grouped, held in one plane or twisted into several planes, proximal margins entire, the apical praemorse, shallowly or deeply lobed, variously tomentose or bristly or glabrous, variously armed with short to long spines along veins on one or both surfaces and along margins, transverse veinlets obscure. Inflorescences solitary or rarely multiple, interfoliar, spicate (rarely) or branching to 1 order only, very rarely to 2, apparently protandrous; peduncle elongate, curved to pendulous, ± elliptic to circular in cross-section, unarmed or sparsely to fiercely armed with spicules and spines, glabrous or tomentose; prophyll usually lanceolate, ± beaked, flattened, 2-keeled, tubular, enclosing the inflorescence in bud, splitting longitudinally and tattering apically, but persistent, variously glabrous or tomentose, unarmed or spiny; peduncular bract inserted near the prophyll, much longer, ± terete, sometimes beaked, unarmed or variously spiny, persistent; rachis (where inflorescence branched) shorter than the peduncle, proximally often armed, distally usually unarmed, often scaly or tomentose, bearing spirally arranged, evenly spaced rachillae each subtended by a small triangular bract; rachillae slender, usually elongate, often spreading, straight or flexuous, with a short to long, basal bare portion, the whole glabrous or more usually scaly or tomentose, flowers borne spirally in triads proximally, distally the rachillae bearing solitary or paired staminate flowers, rarely the rachillae bearing staminate flowers only, very rarely flowers borne in tetrads of 2 pistillate and 2 staminate (according to Read 1979), flower groups superficial or sunken in pits, the rachilla bracts forming the lower lips of the pits; floral bracteoles minute. Staminate flowers usually small, sessile or with a brief stalk; sepals 3, distinct, or connate and spreading in a 3-lobed ring, triangular, membranous; petals 3, distinct or minutely connate basally, valvate, triangular, rather fleshy, much longer than the calyx, ± ovate to triangular, adaxially with impressions of the stamens; stamens 6, filaments short, fleshy, wider and minutely connate basally and/or briefly epipetalous, anthers orbicular, ± rectangular, or linear, medifixed, versatile, latrorse; pistillode minute, conical or trifid. Pollen ellipsoidal, usually with either slight or obvious asymmetry; aperture a distal sulcus; ectexine tectate, perforate, micro-channelled and rugulate; infrequently coarsely perforate and spinose or, coarsely perforate and verrucate, aperture margin usually slightly finer; infratectum columellate; longest axis 24–34 µm [11/23]. Pistillate flowers larger than the staminate, sessile; sepals 3, distinct, broad, imbricate; petals 3, exceeding the sepals, fleshy, connate in the basal ca. 1/2, apically with 3, triangular, valvate lobes; staminodal ring 6-toothed, adnate to the corolla tube; gynoecium ovoid, trilocular, triovulate, stigmas 3, becoming reflexed at anthesis, ovules ?orthotropous, laterally attached. Fruit 1-seeded, ± globose, brilliant red at maturity, stigmatic remains small, apical; epicarp smooth, mesocarp thick, fleshy, fibrous, endocarp thick, very hard and woody, usually uneven, with 3, usually equatorially placed pores, surrounded by radiating fibres. Seed irregularly globose, basally attached, endosperm homogeneous with a central cavity; embryo lateral, opposite one of the pores. Germination adjacent-ligular; eophyll very shallowly to deeply bifid with praemorse tips, frequently densely spiny. Cytology: 2n = 30. (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, Borchsenius and Bernal 1996), root (Borchsenius and Bernal 1996, Seubert 1998a, 1998b), flowers (Borchsenius and Bernal 1996). (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

  • Two monosulcate palm pollen types have been recovered from the Pliocene, Gatun Lake Formation, Panama (Graham 1991). The first of these types, asymmetrical and scabrate tectate, is a very common arecoid pollen type and difficult to place. It has been compared with pollen of Manicaria, Reinhardtia, Astrocaryum and also Aiphanes. However, the size range of Aiphanes pollen (24–34 µm, long axis) is much smaller than that of the fossil pollen (47–58 µm, long axis); Reinhardtia is the most probable comparison. (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Relationships

  • Aiphanes is monophyletic with high support (Gunn 2004). For relationships, see Acrocomia. (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

  • Borchsenius and Bernal (1996). (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

  • Aiphanes Willd.: Coiaqueres. Palm heart edible. (Barfod, A. & H. Balslev 1988: The use of palms by the Cayapas and Coaiqueres on the Coastal plain of Ecuador)
    Use CategoryUse Sub CategoryPlant PartHuman GroupEthnic GroupCountry
    Human FoodFoodPalm heartIndigenousAwáEcuador
  • Aiphanes Willd.: Planta comestible recolectada. Parte comestible, fruto. (Chirif, A. 1978: Salud y nutrición en sociedades nativas)
    Use CategoryUse Sub CategoryPlant PartHuman GroupEthnic GroupCountry
    Human FoodFoodFruitsIndigenousAguarunaPeru
  • Aiphanes Willd.: Uso alimenticio. Frutos. (Descola, P. 1989: La selva culta- Simbolismo y praxis en la ecología de los Achuar)
    Use CategoryUse Sub CategoryPlant PartHuman GroupEthnic GroupCountry
    Human FoodFoodFruitsIndigenousAchuarEcuador

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