Chamaedorea sartorii Liebm., Hist. Nat. Palm. 3: 308 (1849)

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Distribution

Map uses TDWG level 3 distributions (https://github.com/tdwg/wgsrpd)
Honduras present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Mexico Central present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Mexico Gulf present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Mexico Southwest present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
MEXICO. Veracruz. Puebla. Oaxaca. HONDURAS. Atlantida. Olancho. (Hodel, D. 1992. Chamaedorea Palms, The Species and Their Cultivation. The International Palm Society.)A

Discussion

  • Liebmann discovered C. sartorii near Mirador, Veracruz, and described and named it in Martius (1849). It is close to C. ernesti-augustii but the latter species differs in the bifid leaves and spicate or few-branched pistillate inflorescence. Vegetatively, C. sartorii is similar to C. oblongata and C. neurochlamys, and sterile material is sometimes difficult to distinguish. Foliage of C. oblongata usually dries grayish, howevar, while that of C. sartorii and C. neurochlamys dries dark green, brown or black. C. sartorii and C. oblongata have pinnae with thicker texture than those of C. neurochlamys. When fertile, staminate flowers with petals free at the apex and orange, cup-shaped petals easily distinguish C. sartorii from C. oblongata and C. neurochlamys.
    Grown in Europe since about 1850, C. sartorii is fairly widespread in cultivation today, occurring in gardens and collections in California, Florida, Hawaii, Australia, and elsewhere. In California, it has been cultivated since 1900 (Reidel, 1957). Hybrids between C. sartorii and C. ernesti-augustii and C. stolonifera are discussed in the chapter on hybrids. Although some collectors malign C. sartorii as inferior in appearance to C. oblongata, the reputation may be unwarranted as C. sartorii is a handsome species with dark, lustrous green foliage. The leaves are darker green than those of C. oblongata andjust as thick and leathery. C. sartorii can be used in the same situations in the landscape as C. oblongata and is equally attractive. (Hodel, D. 1992. Chamaedorea Palms, The Species and Their Cultivation. The International Palm Society.)A

Biology And Ecology

  • Wet or moist forest on the Atlantic slope; 100-1,300 m elevation; often)on limestone. (Hodel, D. 1992. Chamaedorea Palms, The Species and Their Cultivation. The International Palm Society.)A

Common Name

  • Tepejilote cimarron, tepejilote, tepejilotillo, tepejilote chiapaneco - Mexico. (Hodel, D. 1992. Chamaedorea Palms, The Species and Their Cultivation. The International Palm Society.)A

    Etymology

    • Honors Carl Sartorius, 19th-century German botanist. (Hodel, D. 1992. Chamaedorea Palms, The Species and Their Cultivation. The International Palm Society.)A

    Description

    • Habit: solitary, slender, erect, to 3-4 m tall. Stem: 0.8-1.6 cm diam., green, prominently ringed, internodes 3-30 cm long. Leaves: 3-6, spreading, pinnate; sheath 11-23 cm long, tubular, obliquely open, longitudinally striate-nerved; petiole 17-45 cm long, slightly grooved and green above, rounded and pale below; rachis 30-50 cm long, ± prominently and sharply angled and green above, rounded and pale below; pinnae 5-10 on each side of rachis, 20-40 x 4-7 cm, lanceolate to long-Ianceolate, long-acuminate, oblique basally, sigmoid, falcate, ± thick, deep lustrous green, a central midrib and 2 marginal primary nerves, these rounded, conspicuous, 3 secondaries on each side of midrib, tertiaries numerous, faint. Inflorescences: interfoliar but often infrafoliar in fruit, solitary, erect, 30-70 cm long; peduncles 20-50 cm long, green in flower, orange in fruit; bracts 4-6, upper one the largest, to 25 cm long, slender, fibrous, longitudinally striate-nerved, brown in flower; rachises 2-15 cm long, green in flower, orange in fruit. Staminate with 30 rachillae, these 15-25 cm long, slender, pendulous, flexuous, green. Pistillate with 4-8 rachillae, these 15-20 cm long, erect, becoming spreading in fruit, sharply angled and light green in flower, rounded, thicker, fleshy, and orange-red in fruit. Flowers: Staminate in moderately dense spirals, 2.5 x 2.5-3 mm, depressed-globose, orange, slightly sunken in depressions 1.5-2 mm across; calyx 1.25 x 2 mm, deeply lobed, white, sepals connate in basal 1/2, rounded to acute apically, slightly membranous, nerveless; petals 2 x 2 mm, connate briefly basally, free and valvate apically, cupped over stamens, acute, thin, slightly fleshy, nerved on inside; stamens equalling pistillode, filaments white, 0.75-1 mm long, slightly connate basally, anthers 1-1.25 mm long, narrowly oblong, yellow; pistillode shorter than petals, columnar, flared abruptly apically, expanded basally, whitish. Pistillate in remote spirals, 2.5 x 3 mm, globose, slightly sunken in rounded depressions 2-3 mm across, orange to red, slightly aromatic; calyx 1 x 2.5 mm, deeply lobed, pale green to white, sepals connate and/or imbricate briefly basally, rounded to acute apically, thin, nerveless; petals 2.5 x 1.5-2 mm, connate in basal 1/2, free and valvate apically, acute, cup-shaped, thick, fleshy, very slightly nerved on inside; staminodes 6, large, slightly membranous, free, inserted at base of pistil; pistil 1.5 x 1.25-1.5 mm, subglobose, pale green to white, stigma lobes separated, rounded, recurved, clear-colored. Fruits: 9.5-12.5 x 7-8 mm, ellipsoid-ovoid, black, epicarp transparent, thin, mesocarp slightly fleshy, thin, green, mucilaginous, aromatic, endocarp fibrous-nerved; seeds 7-10 x 5-6 mm, ellipsoid. (Hodel, D. 1992. Chamaedorea Palms, The Species and Their Cultivation. The International Palm Society.)A

    Materials Examined

    • HONDURAS. Atlantida: Standley 52654, 56755,56767,56894 (F, GH); Yuncker 4585 (F, GH, MICH). Olancho: Croat 64387, 64463 (CAS). MEXICO. Oaxaca: Liebmann s.n. (C). Puebla: Vera 3695, 3696 (BH, MICH). Veracruz: Castillo 2000 (F); Galeotti 4975 (F), 4984A (GOET); Hodel 947 (BH, MEXU); Purpus 16209 (C, F, GH); Ross 664, 1115 (FI). (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