Desmoncus orthacanthos
Desmoncus (dehs-MON-koohs) orthacanthos (ohr-thah-KAHN-thohs) | |||||||
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Contents
Habitat and Distribution
Desmoncus orthacanthos is found in Brazil West-Central. From 8°45'-23°01'S and 35°06'-43°28'W in the Atlantic Coastal Forest of Brazil at 105(0-700) m elevation, usually near the sea in restinga or scrub forest. Widespread in tropical America, from Mexico to Bolivia, below 1000 m elevation, often in coastal areas. (Henderson, A. 2011)/Palmweb.Description
Matamba: Barro Colorado Island; Slender, monoecious, widely spreading climber, growing into canopy but usually lower than 5 m; trunk 1-3 cm in diam; juveniles usually erect. Leaves usually about 2 m long; petiolesshort; rachis with black, flattened spines, often recurved, their bases swollen; base of petiole and sheath with denser, shorter spines, the leaf sheaths extending 3-12 cm above petiole; leaflets alternate, long-lanceolate, acuminate, 12-27 cm long, 2.5-4 cm wide, broad at middle, the margins unarmed, the surfaces glabrous or puberulent, the upper surface sometimes with weakly elevated cross-lines, the midrib pronounced but the side veins indistinct, the underside often with 1 or more acicular spines; pinnae becoming opposite toward apex of blade, finally replaced by large, opposite, stout, reflexed spines. Spathes to about 24 cm long, the rachillae 15 or more, slender (less than 2 mm wide), flexuose in fruit, the peduncle and lower part of rachis armed with short prickles(sometimes with pustular bases); flowers either in triads with 1 pistillate between 2 staminate or with staminate flowers solitary near end of rachilla; staminate flowers soon deciduous, about 8 mm long; calyx short, tridentate; petals 3, ovate, oblique, acuminate, fleshy; stamens usually 8 or 9; filaments fused to petals at base; pistillate flowers with a small annular calyx; corollas much longer than calyx, urceolate, tridentate, with very small, adnate staminodia; pistils ovoid, 3-celled; styles short; stigma trifid. Fruits bright red atmaturity, ellipsoid, 1.5-2 cm long, glabrous; exocarp thin; mesocarp fleshy; seed 1, about twice as long as broad, obscurely 3-sided with a pore on each side and with dark lines radiating from each pore; cupule inconspicuous. (Pre-2011)
Frequent in the forest; most abundant in dense thickets and along the shore where vegetation is sufficiently dense to provide support. Flowers in the rainy season. Fruits in the dry season and early rainy season.
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The species is similar to and perhaps inseparable from D. orthacanthos Mart. of South America, which was described as a plant forming dense thickets in clearings, with a spathe more than 50 cm long, whereas D. isthmius is always in forests and has a much shorter spathe. In addition, the type illustration by Martius (1824) showed the recurved spines tohave long filiform appendages. Probably the Panamanian plants will not be found to be distinct from other Central American plants from Mexico south, which are now known as D.chinanthlensis Liebm. Known only from Panama in tropical moist forest in the CanalZone, Panama, and Darien and from tropical wet forest in Colón. Croat 7759,11288. (Bailey, Gentes Herb. 6:211.1943) Subcanopy reaching liana. Stems clustered. Palm 2.6 (1.2-4.0) m tall; stems 1.3 (0.7-2.2) cm in diameter, clustered. Leaf petioles 6.4 (2.0-15.0) cm long; rachises 59.6 (30.5-85.0) cm long, 4.6 (2.9-6.8) mm wide, the spines usually >1 cm long, mostly adaxial or lateral, straight with briefly swollen bases; pinnae 9 (6-14) per side of rachis, without long, filiform apices, without a beard of spines at the bases, without spinules or dense tomentum at the bases adaxially; basal pinna 14.3 (7.6-25.0) cm long, 2.6 (1.0-4.8) cm wide; cirri well-developed, with acanthophylls, without spines abaxially, with intermediate acanthophylls present (i.e., distalmost pair of pinnae reflexed as acanthophylls and with swollen bases and/or proximalmost acanthophylls like vestigial pinnae), without a wide gap between pinnae and acanthophylls. Inflorescences with the rachis angular, slightly twisted, thicker than the closely spaced and spirally arranged rachillae, each rachilla not adnate to the rachis and with an irregular bracteole adnate to the rachilla and appearing displaced distally onto the rachilla, with a poorly- to well-developed axillary pulvinus; peduncles 3.9 (2.0-7.2) mm wide; peduncular bracts 26.4 (19.0-39.0) cm long, broad, the surfaces ribbed, brown tomentose, rarely with long, straight or sinuous, briefly swollen-based, diagonally or vertically oriented spines, these flattened or triangular in cross-section, whitish-brown proximally, black or brown distally, with tomentose margins; rachillae 14 (8-22), glabrous or scarcely tomentose initially; proximal rachillae 10.4 (5.0-20.5) cm long, 0.8 (0.3-1.2) mm wide; stamens 5-7; fruits 14.4 (11.4-18.4) mm long, 10.9 (8.4-15.2) mm wide, the surfaces uneven with numerous, subepidermal, short, often branching (Yshaped) fibers; fruiting corollas less than one quarter as long as fruits, splitting irregularly into 3 lobes, the lobes often splitting again; endocarps globose to obovoid with rounded or slightly peaked apices, the pores lateral.Plants 2.6 (1.2-4.0) m tall; stems 1.3 (0.7-2.2) cm diameter, clustered. Leaf petioles 6.4 (2.0-15.0) cm long; rachises 59.6 (30.5-85.0) cm long, 4.6 (2.9-6.8) mm wide, the spines usually >1 cm long, mostly adaxial or lateral, straight with briefly swollen bases; pinnae 9 (6-14) per side of rachis, without long, filiform apices, without a beard of spines at the bases, without spinules or dense tomentum at the bases adaxially; basal pinna 14.3 (7.6-25.0) cm long, 2.6 (1.0-4.8) cm wide; cirri well-developed, with acanthophylls, without spines abaxially, with intermediate acanthophylls present (i.e., distalmost pair of pinnae reflexed as acanthophylls and with swollen bases and/or proximalmost acanthophylls like vestigial pinnae), without a wide gap between pinnae and acanthophylls. Inflorescences with the rachis angular, slightly twisted, thicker than the closely spaced and spirally arranged rachillae, each rachilla not adnate to the rachis and with an irregular bracteole adnate to the rachilla and appearing displaced distally onto the rachilla, with a poorly to well-developed axillary pulvinus; peduncles 3.9 (2.0-7.2) mm wide; peduncular bracts 26.4 (19.0-39.0) cm long, broad, the surfaces ribbed, brown tomentose, rarely with long, straight or sinuous, briefly swollen-based, diagonally or vertically oriented spines, these flattened or triangular in cross-section, whitish-brown proximally, black or brown distally, with tomentose margins; rachillae 14 (8-22), glabrous or scarcely tomentose initially; proximal rachillae 10.4 (5.0-20.5) cm long, 0.8 (0.3-1.2) mm wide; stamens 5-7; fruits 14.4 (11.4-18.4) mm long, 10.9 (8.4-15.2) mm wide, the surfaces uneven with numerous, subepidermal, short, often branching (Yshaped) fibers; fruiting corollas less than one quarter as long as fruits, splitting irregularly into 3 lobes, the lobes often splitting again; endocarps globose to obovoid with rounded or slightly peaked apices, the pores lateral. (Henderson, A. 2011)/Palmweb. Editing by edric. Easily recognised by its straight leaf rachis spines and unarmed cirrhus. Otherwise a highly variable species in need of thorough revision. (Borchsenius, F. 1998)/Palmweb. Taxonomic notes:-Both Wessels Boer (1965) and Henderson et al. (1995) considered Desmoncus orthacanthos to be much more widespread. This was based on a misinterpretation, and it is here considered to be confined to the Atlantic Coastal Forest of Brazil (see notes under Desmoncus horridus). Desmoncus orthacanthos has an unique inflorescence structure with each rachilla with an irregular, adnate bracteole that appears displaced distally onto the rachilla. Pinnae spines are also distinctive. All specimens have at least some pinnae with one or rarely two large spines right at the very base of the pinnae on the abaxial surface. Subspecific variation:-There is no geographic disjunction, except for two outlying specimens from Pernambuco. There is geographical variation in this species. Regression shows there are significant (P <0.05) associations between latitude and four leaf and three inflorescence variables. Squared multiple R for the regression of petiole length on latitude is 0.19, rachis length 0.27, basal pinna length 0.29, basal pinna width 0.16, peduncular bract length 0.29, rachilla length 0.17, and fruit length 0.41. These variables decrease from north to south except for fruit length which increases from north to south. (Henderson, A. 2011)/Palmweb. |
Culture
Warm, sheltered and moist. Cold sensitive. It spreads by seeds that take from 1-10 months to germinate, can grow rapidly.
Comments and Curiosities
Uses: Fruit is edible. Stem fibers extracted to make baskets. Fruits are eaten by white-faced monkeys from April to August (Hladik & Hladik, 1969).
A very unusual, widespread climbing palm from S-Mexico to South America with elliptical leaflets and slender canes which are used for weaving baskets. It is rare in cultivation and best suited to tropical or warm subtropical climates. Surprisingly, this palm is not related to the Rattan palms, Calamus, but to Bactris, Astrocaryum and the like. (RPS.com)
"Desmoncus orthacanthos, a climbing Rattan Palm native from S.E. Mexico to E. Brazil. It can climb 130-40ft up and has canes 2-3cm in diameter. The rattan made from the canes is low quality and mostly used for baskets. This palm climbs by aid of cirri. These are long, whip-like structures that are a modified leaf rachis. They grow from the end of the leaves. The cirrus on this palm are not as vicious as other climbing palms. They have backward curving hooks that grab onto other vegetation and help anchor and pull the palm up." (Eric S., botanist, H.P. Leu Gardens, Orlando FL.)
- IMAGE GALLERY
External Links
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).
Borchsenius, F.1998. Manual to the palms of Ecuador. AAU Reports 37. Department of Systematic Botany, University of Aarhus, Denmark in collaboration with Pontificia Universidad Catalica del Ecuador.
Henderson, A. 2011. A revision of Desmoncus (Arecaceae).
Many Special Thanks to Ed Vaile for his long hours of tireless editing and numerous contributions.