Verschaffeltia splendida

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Verschaffeltia splendida
Verschaffeltia splendida.jpg

Verschaffeltia splendida

Systematics
Monocots
Commelinids
Order : Palm- like arecales
Family : Palm family (Arecaceae)
Genre : Verschaffeltia
Type : Verschaffeltia splendida
Scientific name of the  genus
Verschaffeltia
H. Wendl.
Scientific name of the  species
Verschaffeltia splendida
H. Wendl.

Verschaffeltia splendida is a species of palm endemic to the Seychelles . It is the only species in the genus Verschaffeltia .

features

Verschaffeltia splendida is a showy, medium-sized, single-stemmed palm with stilt roots and spines. Young palms are more heavily armed, and with age they become less prickly. They bloom several times and are single-sexed ( monoecious ).

The trunk is erect and has conspicuous, ring-shaped leaf scars . Young specimens are densely covered with black spines, older ones have rings of backward spines. At the base of the trunk sits a cone of strong stilt roots.

The chromosome number is 2n = 36.

leaves

The leaves are large, bifid, with pinnate-shaped ribs and lobes. They are irregularly split into multiple folded segments. The leaves fall off, leaving a smooth scar. The leaf sheaths are open and do not form a crown shaft. In young palms they are very densely covered with black spines, in adult palms they are unarmed. The petiole is short and glabrous, reinforced in young palms like the rachis , unarmed in adults. The leaf blade is undivided in young palms and irregularly split in adults. The margins are lobed to split up to half of the blade, thus forming reduplicate segments. The blade is bare on the upper side, scattered on the underside with small, punctiform scales and conspicuous, large chaff scales along the ribs.

Inflorescences

The inflorescences stand individually between the foliage leaves (interfoliar) and are twofold or threefold, only single towards the tip. The male flowers bloom first ( proterandry ). The peduncle is long, round in cross section and, like all axes of the inflorescence, hairy. The cover sheet sits slightly apart from the base of the stem. It is very large, persistent, leathery, tubular, double-keeled, unarmed and scattered with scales. There is a bract on the peduncle that attaches well above the cover sheet. It is obsolete, resembles the cover sheet, but is thinner and not double-keeled.

The inflorescence axis is shorter than the stem. Their bracts are very small, triangular and inconspicuous. The first-order lateral axes are numerous, protruding, flexible to stiff, somewhat arched and have flower triads in a spiral arrangement, with single or paired male flowers at the tip .

blossoms

The male flowers are small and spherical. The three sepals are free, imbricat and rounded. The three petals are also free, stand valvat and are twice as long as the calyx. The six stamens have free, fleshy and rather short stamens. The anthers are plump, medifix and latrors . The rudiment of the pistil is large, triangular and about as long as the petals. The pollen is ellipsoidal and asymmetrical. The germ opening is a distal sulcus. The longest axis measures 41 to 47 microns.

The female flowers are larger than the male and also spherical. The three sepals are free, imbricated and tear irregularly. The three petals are free, broad, imbricat and with a very short, triangular, valvate point. The six staminodes have ribbon-shaped filaments and broad, flat tips. The gynoeceum is egg-shaped, single-fan with an ovule . The three scars are short and bent back.

fruit

The fruit is solitary, spherical, brownish green, the flower shell remains on the fruit, the remnants of the stigma sit at the base of the fruit. The exocarp is smooth and becomes rough when dry. The mesocarp has a crust-like layer directly below the exocarp and is rather thin and fleshy underneath, with few fibers attached to the endocarp . The terminal carp is thin, cartilaginous and shows noticeable ridges and ridges as well as a round basal germinal opening.

Distribution and locations

The species occurs on the Seychelles islands Mahé , Silhouette and Praslin . It grows in relict forests on slopes between 300 and 600 m above sea level. It is less common in river valleys below 300 m above sea level. It mainly grows on steep slopes and in rugged canyons. Usually the trees stand individually, rarely in groups.

Systematics

The genus Verschaffeltia is placed within the family Arecaceae in the subfamily Arecoideae , Tribus Areceae and Subtribus Verschaffeltiinae .

In the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew , only the species Verschaffeltia splendida is recognized.

The genus is named after the Belgian art gardener Ambroise Colette Alexandre Verschaffelt (1825–1886).

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. 618-620.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rafaël Govaerts (ed.): Verschaffeltia. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved May 12, 2010.

Web links