Chelyocarpus

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Chelyocarpus
Chelyocarpus ulei
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Subfamily: Coryphoideae
Tribe: Cryosophileae
Genus: Chelyocarpus
Dammer
Type species
Chelyocarpus ulei
Species

Chelyocarpus chuco (Mart.) H.E.Moore
Chelyocarpus dianeurus (Burret) H.E.Moore
Chelyocarpus repens F.Kahn & K.Mejia
Chelyocarpus ulei Dammer

Synonyms[1]

Tessmanniophoenix Burret
Tessmanniodoxa Burret

Chelyocarpus is a genus of small to medium-sized fan palms which are native to northwestern South America. Some are upright trees, while others creep along the ground. Species are used for thatch, to weave hats, stuff pillows and as a source of salt.

Description

Chelyocarpus is a type of small to medium-sized, single or multi-stemmed palms with fan shaped leaves. Stems range from short and creeping along the ground to as much as 15 metres (49 feet) tall. Stem diameters range from 4 to 12 centimetres (1.6 to 4.7 inches). Individuals have between 10 and 20 leaves with circular blades, the lower surface of which is usually whitish in colour. The flowers are small and bisexual—they have both male and female sex organs in the same flower. The fruit have one or two seeds and ripen to a greenish yellow or brown.

Taxonomy

Cryosophileae  
Simplified phylogeny of the Cryosophileae based on four nuclear genes and the matK plastid gene.[2]

The name Chelyocarpus is derived from

sister clade to the rest of the tribe.[6]

Distribution

Three species of Chelyocarpus are native to the western Amazon, while the fourth is from western Colombia. Chelyocarpus chuco is found in Brazil and Bolivia, C. ulei in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil, C. repens near Iquitos, Peru, and C. dianeurus is found in the Pacific lowlands of Colombia.[3]

Uses

The leaves of Chelyocarpus chuco are used for thatch and to weave hats. The woolly covering of the leaf sheaths of C. dianeurus are used to stuff pillows, and salt is extracted from the trunks of C. ulei.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b "Chelyocarpus". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  2. ISSN 1365-2699
    .
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-0-691-08537-1
    .
  4. ^ Uhl, Natalie E.; John Dransfield (1987). Genera Palmarum: a classification of palms based on the work of Harold E. Moore Jr. Lawrence, Kansas: The L. H. Bailey Hortorium and the International Palm Society.
  5. JSTOR 25070242
    .
  6. doi:10.1007/s12229-008-9005-9
    .
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