Cyphokentia Brongn., Compt. Rend. Hebd. Séances Acad. Sci. 77: 397 (1873)

Primary tabs

https://media.e-taxonomy.eu/palmae/photos/palm_tc_351394_5.jpg

Distribution

Map uses TDWG level 3 distributions (https://github.com/tdwg/wgsrpd)
New Caledonia present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Two species in New Caledonia. (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Discussion

  • These are beautiful palms of montane forest in New Caledonia, often with striking white-waxy crownshafts.
    (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Diagnosis

  • Moderate solitary pinnate-leaved palms with striking white-waxy crownshafts, endemic to New Caledonia; the staminate flowers have elongate anthers. (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

  • Cyphokentia macrostachya is a somewhat variable species that occurs over a wide range on soil derived from both serpentines and schists, while C. cerifera is restricted to schistose soils. (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

  • 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

  • Combining kyphos — hump, with the generic name Kentia, named for William Kent (1779–1827), one-time curator of the botanic gardens at Buitenzorg, Java (now Kebun Raya Bogor), referring to the lateral to subbasal stigmatic remains. (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Uses

  • 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

  • Moderate, solitary (or exceptionally with 2–3 stems), unarmed, pleonanthic, monoecious palms. Stem erect, faintly to prominently ringed, enlarged at the base, yellow or whitish, brown-spotted. Leaves regularly pinnate, gracefully spreading; sheaths tubular, forming a prominent, white-waxy crownshaft; petiole short, concave adaxially, rounded abaxially, glabrous or brown scaly; rachis concave adaxially near base, becoming angled distally, rounded abaxially, often somewhat curved, glabrous or scaly as the petiole; leaflets regularly arranged, acute, slightly arched from rachis, single-fold, stiff, waxy on both surfaces but particularly so abaxially, midrib and a lateral vein on each side elevated and prominent adaxially, secondary veins numerous, large ribs clothed basally with ramenta, transverse veinlets not evident. Inflorescences infrafoliar, branched to 2–3 orders basally and fewer distally, branches pendulous, protandrous; peduncle very short, stout, ± recurved; prophyll wide, tubular, broadly 2-keeled laterally, completely encircling the peduncle and enclosing the peduncular bract; first peduncular bract similar, briefly beaked, both it and the prophyll caducous, a second peduncular bract usually present; rachis longer than the peduncle, bearing very low and rounded or acute to scarcely evident bracts subtending branches and rachillae; rachillae long, slender, variously compressed in bud, tapering, pendulous, distant, bearing low, rounded, lip-like bracts subtending flowers in triads nearly throughout the rachillae, and paired or solitary staminate flowers distally; bracteoles surrounding pistillate flowers sepal-like, imbricate, about as high as bracts of the triad. Staminate buds ± symmetrical; sepals 3, distinct, slightly imbricate basally, small, rounded, gibbous at base and keeled dorsally; petals 3, distinct, valvate, broadly ovate in outline or subacute, not markedly fibrous, grooved on inner surface; stamens 6–12, filaments incurved, awl-shaped, briefly inflexed at the apex in bud, about as long as the anthers, anthers oblong in outline, dorsifixed, briefly bifid at base and apex, latrorse; pistillode as long as the anthers in bud, somewhat 3-angled and expanded into a 3-angled, flat apex. Pollen ellipsoidal asymmetric, occasionally lozenge-shaped; aperture a distal sulcus; ectexine tectate, perforate and micro-channelled or finely perforate-rugulate, aperture margin similar or slightly finer; infratectum columellate; longest axis 37–56 µm [2/2]. Pistillate flowers not seen at anthesis; sepals 3, distinct, rounded, imbricate basally in fruit; petals 3, distinct, imbricate except briefly for the valvate tips, distinctly tanniniferous, nerved in fruit; staminodes 3–5, rarely 6, tooth-like; gynoecium ovoid, unilocular, uniovulate, ovule pendulous, probably hemianatropous. Fruit depressed globose to ellipsoidal, dull orange to red at maturity, with stigmatic remains at or below the middle; epicarp smooth or minutely roughened, drying somewhat wrinkled but not regularly pebbled, thin, not tanniniferous, overlying a shell of very short sclereids external to a fleshy layer of mesocarp, mesocarp with longitudinal flat fibres, and a tanniniferous layer adjacent to the endocarp, endocarp vitreous, rather thick, with a round or spathulate, basal operculum and lateral beak. Seed subglobose to nearly ellipsoidal, hilum near the base, round, raphe branches ascending from the base, endosperm homogeneous; embryo basal. Germination adjacent-ligular; eophyll bifid. Cytology not known. (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 (Uhl and Martens 1980), root (Seubert 1998a,1998b) and fruit (Essig et al. 1999). (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

  • Asymmetric monosulcate pollen with a distinctive irregularly columellate infratectum, Palmaepollenites sp., from the Middle Eocene of Central Java (Nanggulan Formation) is compared with pollen of Moratia (= Cyphokentia) and with that of Actinorhytis, Cyphosperma and Cyphophoenix (Harley and Morley 1995). (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Relationships

  • The monophyly of Cyphokentia is recovered innumerous studies with moderate to high support (Pintaud1999b, Asmussen et al. 2006, Norup et al. 2006, Baker et al. inreview, in prep.). The genus is resolved as sister to Clinospermawith high support (Pintaud 1999b, Norup et al. 2006, Bakeret al. in review, in prep.). (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

  • Moore and Uhl (1984), Hodel andPintaud (1998), Pintaud and Baker (2008). (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

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