Fishtail palms
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The fishtail or stinging palms ( Caryota ) ( Gr .: tó káryon = nut) are a genus of palm that is native from South Asia to the Southwest Pacific . It is the only genus of palm that has double-pinnate leaves. The leaflets are fishtail-shaped.
features
The representatives are medium-sized to large single or multi-stemmed palms. They are single sexed ( monoecious ) and bloom and fruit only once ( hapaxanth ). The trunks have elongated internodes that are initially covered by permanent fibrous leaf bases and sheaths. After a while they become bare and are then conspicuously covered with ring-shaped, narrow leaf scars.
The chromosome number is 2n = 34.
leaves
The leaves are bipinnate, only young plants are pinnate. Dead leaves remain on the trunk (Marzeszenz) or fall off under their own weight. The leaf sheath is triangular, opposite the petiole it breaks up into strong black fibers, the ligula- like structure that is often present also breaks down into black fibers. The surface of the leaf sheath is densely hairy and covered with chocolate-brown scales.
The petiole is weak to distinct, furrowed on the top and rounded on the underside. It has hair like the leaf sheath. The secondary leaf spindles are regularly on the primary rachis. The lower ones rarely stand in groups.
The leaflets are numerous and are quite regular on the secondary leaf spindles. They are wedge-shaped and do not have a distinct midrib, but have several larger vascular bundles that extend from the swollen, sometimes stem-like base. The upper edges are severely torn. On the underside of the leaf there are broad bands of chocolate-brown scales.
Inflorescences
The inflorescences are hermaphroditic, stand solitary and are formed in a basipetal order. They appear between the leaves, less often they are under the leaf crown. They are usually simply branched, less often double ( Caryota ophiopellis ), triple ( Caryota zebrina ) or they are spiked ( Caryota monostachya ).
The peduncle is circular in cross section, and densely covered with scales. The cover sheet is initially Roehrig, soon tearing open, two-keeled, relatively small, densely hairy and / or scaled. The approximately eight bracts on the peduncle are conspicuous, large and enclose the inflorescence like in a bud. They are leathery, initially tubular, tear open irregularly and are mostly hairy and / or scaled. The inflorescence axis can be shorter or longer than the inflorescence stalk. The flower-bearing side axes ( rachillae ) are arranged in a spiral, are close together, are mostly scaled. Each stands in the armpit of a small, triangular bract. The base of the rachilla is a little swollen, the lowest flower-free section is short to medium long. The distal area is close to distant, spirally covered with proterandric flower triads, which stand in inconspicuous rachilla bracts . The bracts of the flowers are flat and rounded.
blossoms
The male flowers are usually elongated and symmetrical. The three sepals are separate, leathery, rounded and are imbricat . The three petals are valvate , leathery and fused at the base. They are significantly longer than the chalice. There are 6 to about 100 stamens . Their filaments are short, sometimes fused at the base. The anthers are latrors, the connective may be elongated to a point. A stamp rudiment is not formed. The pollen is ellipsoidal and rather bisymmetrical. The germ opening is a distal sulcus. The longest axis measures 26 to 31 microns.
The female flowers are more spherical or elongated. The three sepals are leathery, rounded, imbricat and fused at the base. The three petals are leathery, valvate and fused up to half of the tubing in the lower third. There are 0 to 6 staminodes . The ovary is round or somewhat triangular. It consists of three fruit compartments, one or two of which are fertile. There are septal glands at the base. The scar is three-lobed and apical. The ovules are hemianatropic and are attached adaxially to the base of the fruit compartment.
Fruits and seeds
The fruit is spherical and contains one or two seeds. The exocarp is smooth and dull, light or dark in color at maturity. The mesocarp is fleshy and covered with numerous irritating needle-shaped crystals. An endocarp is not differentiated. The seeds are basal, are irregularly spherical or hemispherical, somewhat furrowed or smooth. The endosperm is smooth or furrowed. The embryo stands on its side.
Distribution and locations
The distribution area of the genus extends from Sri Lanka, India and southern China to the south via Southeast Asia and Malesia to northern Australia, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu . The climate ranges from monsoon climates to always humid areas. The representatives come from sea level up to 2000 m above sea level. They grow in primary forests and secondary forests, in the latter mainly Caryota mitis .
Systematics
The genus Caryota L. is placed within the family Arecaceae in the subfamily Coryphoideae , tribe Caryoteae . The genus is monophyletic . Her sister group is the group from Wallichia and Arenga .
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew's World Checklist of Selected Plant Families recognizes the following species:
- Caryota albertii F. Muell. ex H. Wendl. : The home is northern Queensland .
- Caryota angustifolia Zumaidar & Jeanson : The home is Sulawesi .
- Caryota cumingii Lodd. ex Mart. : The home is the Philippines.
- Caryota kiriwongensis Hodel : The home is Thailand.
- Caryota maxima flower : The range extends from Bhutan to southern China and Malesia.
- Caryota mitis Lour. : The distribution area extends from Indochina to southern China and Malesia.
- Caryota monostachya Becc. : The homeland is southern China and northern Vietnam.
- Caryota no Becc. : The home is Borneo.
- Caryota obtusa handle. : The distribution area extends from Arunachal Pradesh to Yunnan and Indochina.
- Caryota ophiopellis Dowe : Endemic to Vanuatu .
- Caryota Rumphiana Mart. : The distribution area extends from the Philippines to Papua Asia.
- Caryota sympetala Gagnep. : The homeland is Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
- Caryota urens L .: The home is southern and southwestern India and Sri Lanka.
- Caryota zebrina Hambali & al. : The home is New Guinea.
use
All types are used. The sprout tips ( palm hearts ) are edible and tasty. Sago is obtained from the trunks , with preference for the larger species. The wood from Caryota urens is used as construction timber. The fibers of the leaf sheaths are very durable and are made into ropes, for example. The inflorescences, especially those of Caryota urens, are tapped to produce palm wine and sugar. Several species are planted as ornamental plants.
supporting documents
- John Dransfield, Natalie W. Uhl, Conny B. Asmussen, William J. Baker, Madeline M. Harley, Carl E. Lewis: Genera Palmarum. The Evolution and Classification of Palms . Second edition, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 2008, ISBN 978-1-84246-182-2 , pp. 297-300.
Individual evidence
- ↑ David Jones: Palms . Page 164, Könemann, Cologne, 2000, ISBN 3-8290-4889-0 .
- ↑ Rafaël Govaerts (ed.): Caryota. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved August 3, 2018.
Web links
- Caryota on the homepage of the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden