Allagoptera leucocalyx
Allagoptera (ahl-lah-gohp-TEH-rah) leucocalyx (loo-koh-KAHL-iks) | |||||||
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Contents
Habitat and Distribution
Allagoptera leucocalyx is found in Open bush land areas of Paraguay, Bolivia, Brazil, also marginal in north-eastern Argentina. Southern America: Brazil, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Southern South America; Argentina Northeast, Paraguay; Western South America; Bolivia. Heliophilous and saxicolous, the species is distributed in cerrado vegetation from central Brazil to northern Bolivia, northern Paraguay, and northern Argentina. It is found at 200-700 m on sandy white and gray soils, red latisols, or rocks in savannas and ravines. Rarely it grows at elevations up to 1060 m on the tops of savanna hills. It grows in a transition zone between savanna (cerrado) and pantanal ( flooded) vegetation, as well as in open forests, the margins of forest islands, and gallery forests.Description
Allagoptera leucocalyx is a small, solitary, but subterranean, giving it the appearance of clustering, scruby palm that grows in sandy soils in exposed locations, sometimes near to sandy river banks. Deep grey/green leaves to about 1.5 m long, with a clustered subterranean, trunk but cultivated palms in humid and semi-shade conditions can to build a trunk of one metre or more tall. Fruits of 2 cm diameter, of triangle form, yellow when ripe. Seeds of the same size. A beautiful dwarf palm, widely distributed in Bolivia, Paraguay, northernmost Argentina and southern central Brazil where it grows in savanna on sandy soils to an altitude of 1000 m (3300 ft.), often forming dense stands. It forms a branching underground trunk that gives rise to a cluster of crowns with plumose fronds that are dark green above and silvery below. Due to its inland habitat it will resist more cold and drought than its popular cousin; A. arenaria. It will do well in a warm temperate or tropical climate and can take moderate freezes. Editing by edric.
Moore (1895) described a new species, Diplothemium jangadense, collected near the jangada forests in Mato Grosso (Brazil), which was distinguished from D. leucocalyx by the number of stamens, leaf length, and density of papillose hairs in staminate flowers. Barbosa Rodrigues (1898) argued that the morphological variability of D. leucocalyx resulted from the type of soils, so he included D. jangadense as a synonym of D. leucocalyx. Barbosa Rodrigues (1899) described Diplothemium anisitsii from Paraguay in honor of Juan Anizitz, Director of the Hortus Fluminensis in Rio de Janeiro; the spelling of the species epithet was corrected later by Barbosa Rodrigues (1903). This species description was based on fruiting specimens and was distinguished from other acaulescent species (e.g., D. campestre, D. lillorale, and D. leucocalyx) by the distribution of floccose scales on the fruit. Nonetheless, the presence of papillose hairs on the calyx margin is quite variable in A. leucocalyx. A similar type of hairs is present in A. arenaria and A. campestris. Although the description of Drude (1881) was emphatic about glaucous papillose hairs on the calyx of staminate flowers (from which the species epithet leucocalyx comes), the most constant characters are number of stamens (9-11) and the length of the petiole and peduncle. In the present revision, the length of the peduncle was the most important reason why A. anisitsii and A. campestris var. orbignyi were synonymized under A. leucocalyx; A. campestris has a petiole 15-40 cm in length, whereas A. leucocalyx reaches 50-90 cm. Another reason was the angle at which the groups of pinnae are inserted on the rachis. Allagoptera leucocalyx also differs from A. campestris in having whitish and wider pinnae. (Mónica Moraes, Flora Neotropica, monograph 73, Allagoptera)/Palmweb
Detailed Scientific Description |
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Palm 1-2.5 m tall; stem to 10 cm long, subterranean. Leaves 6-30; sheath and petiole smooth and glabrous; sheath base 10-70 cm long, tubular, orange, fibrous; petiole 25-70 cm long. 1-1.5 mm in diam., glabrous or with scarce ramenta; rachis 65-95 cm long, with a continuous white waxy layer or with sparsely brown glands; pinnae 30-72 per side, elongatelanceolate, with acute tips, regularly inserted in groups of 2-3 (-4), 3-6 cm apart, spreading in different angles, in each group the apical pinnae inserted toward the apex, the basal pinnae inserted downward along the petiole, thickened at base with or without ramenta, acute apex asymmetrically split for 0.5-2.5 cm, with evident midrib adaxially, depressed abaxially, with transverse veinlets evident adaxially, light green glaucous and waxy adaxially, green to brown glaucous abaxially, with two longitudinal lines with ramenta abaxially; basal pinnae 30-45 x 0.4-0.6 cm; middle pinnae 30-50 x 0.9-2 cm; apical pinnae 8-12 x 0.2-0.5 cm. Inflorescences 58-105 cm long; peduncle 50-90 cm long, about 0.5 cm in diam., slender, fimbriate, glabrous to scarcely covered with ramenta with papillose margins; rachilla 8-15 cm long, bearing membranous bracteoles; prophyll 30-40 cm, tubular, membranous to woody; peduncular bract 75-105 cm long, about 2.2 cm in diam., apiculate 2.5-3.5 cm, not inflated above, woody, sulcate, green with sparse ramenta externally, muricate and brown internally; peduncular bracts 1(2), brown, scarious, apiculate, at 2 cm from apex of peduncle. Staminate flowers about 3 mm long, pedicel <1 mm long, inserted parallel; sepals connate basally, smooth, coriaceous. With papillose hairs on margins; petals valvate, free, muricate, coriaceous, ca. 5 x 2 mm; stamens 9-10 distally, 14-15 proximally, about 5 mm long, the filaments not columnar, the anthers about 1 mm long, slightly sagittate at both ends; pistillode simple to trifid. Pistillate flowers inserted on proximal 2-6.5 cm of rachilla, fibrous; sepals free, triangular, about 5 x 3 mm, imbricate to the right, glabrous with papillose hairs on margins; petals free, triangular, about 7 x 3 mm, contorted to the left, glabrous or with papillose hairs on margins; staminodial ring discontinuous and irregular with 5 short teeth; pistil conical , about 4 x 2 mm; stigma capitate or trifid to 2 mm long, glabrous. Fruit ovoid to ellipsoid , densely covered by floccose yellow-orange hairs to apex, 2-2.5 cm long, about 1.5 cm in diam., perpendicular to rachilla, the stigmatic remnants with stigmas trifid and erect to 3 mm, the persistent perianth to ½, or near apex of fruit; seed 1. (Mónica Moraes, Flora Neotropica, monograph 73, Allagoptera)/Palmweb Drude (1881I) cited two collections in the original description of D. campestre Mart. var. orbignyi. However, the collection made by Burchell (5750) is sterile and has no reproductive information included in the protologue; it is a confusing reference for the species, because vegetatively it has been here identified as A campestris. The collection made by Weddell (1861) has been selected because it corresponds entirely with the Drude's original description. (Mónica Moraes, Flora Neotropica, monograph 73, Allagoptera)/Palmweb. |
Culture
A very rarely cultivated plant, although it is probably very hardy. Despite being quite common in the wild, seeds are almost never offered. Cold Hardiness Zone: 9b, to about -3 C °
Comments and Curiosities
This is a tillering palm, it exhibits saxophone style root growth (it has a heel), keep top third of heel above soil elevation!
Uses: The mesocarp and seeds are edible. The leaves are used to make brooms, baskets, and hats, and the plant is grown as an ornamental. Their leaves serve as fodder for animals and cattle, horses and other wildlife feed on fruit.
"If mine is actually a leucocalyx, it has been bought as such but you never now, it is a superb new introduction. It is many times faster growing than its relative arenaria (mine has been planted near an already adult arenaria as a two strap leaf seedling and now has outgrown the older cousin) and overall bigger (leaves are 1 1/2 times bigger than of arenaria) . Also it has more waxy coating on petiole bases and is cold hardier. Same growing condition with arenaria but a thck layer of fine sea gravel beneath the roots!" (kostheos)
A beautiful dwarf palm, widely distributed in Bolivia, Paraguay, northernmost Argentina and southern central Brazil where it grows in savanna on sandy soils, to an altitude of 1000 m (3300 ft.), often forming dense stands. It forms a branching underground trunk that gives rise to a cluster of crowns with plumose fronds that are dark green above and silvery below. Due to its inland habitat it will resist more cold and drought than its popular cousin A. arenaria. It will do well in a warm temperate or tropical climate and can take moderate freezes. (RPS.com).
"A. leucocalix seems to be much hardier than A. areneria, for me at least." (Dick)
External Links
- Glossary of Palm Terms
- MODERN BOTANICAL LATIN
- "Just To Be Clear"
- Great info!
- http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/20812-photos-of-allagoptera-species/
- THE SAXOPHONE STYLE ROOT GROWTH (HEEL)
References
Phonetic spelling of Latin names by edric.
Special thanks to Geoff Stein, (Palmbob) for his hundreds of photos.
Special thanks to Palmweb.org, Dr. John Dransfield, Dr. Bill Baker & team, for their volumes of information and photos.
Glossary of Palm Terms; Based on the glossary in Dransfield, J., N.W. Uhl, C.B. Asmussen-Lange, W.J. Baker, M.M. Harley & C.E. Lewis. 2008. Genera Palmarum - Evolution and Classification of the Palms. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. All images copyright of the artists and photographers (see images for credits).
Many Special Thanks to Ed Vaile for his long hours of tireless editing and numerous contributions.