Lepidocaryum
Encyclopedia
Lepidocaryum is an unispecific genus
of flowering plant
in the palm
family from South America
where the lone species, Lepidocaryum tenue, is commonly called poktamui. Nine species have been described but palm taxonomists agree that just one variable plant represents them all. The most reduced member of the Lepidocaryeae, it is similar in appearance to three closely related genera, Mauritia
, Mauritiella
, and Lytocaryum
. The genus name combines the Greek
words for "scale" and "nut" and the species epithet is Latin
for "thin".
are palmate and borne on 60 cm petioles. Each leaf is split in half, to the petiole, with each half further divided into 2 - 11 narrow segments.
It is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants, both with interfoliar inflorescences, branched to two orders, which are superficially similar. Female plants produce oblong or ovoid fruit
, usually with one seed
, red to brown in color and covered in scales.
Amazon
region, out to Venezuela
, the wetter parts of Colombia
, Guyana
and Peru
, it is an undergrowth palm found in low land rain forest. In habitat the leaves are often used in thatch.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
in the palm
Arecaceae
Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...
family from South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
where the lone species, Lepidocaryum tenue, is commonly called poktamui. Nine species have been described but palm taxonomists agree that just one variable plant represents them all. The most reduced member of the Lepidocaryeae, it is similar in appearance to three closely related genera, Mauritia
Mauritia
Mauritia is a genus of fan palms which is native to northern South America. Mauritia flexuosa is widely distribution across northern South America, extending north to Trinidad, while the other M. carana is restricted to the Amazon region....
, Mauritiella
Mauritiella
Mauritiella is a dioecious genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in South America where it is commonly called buriti. It is named after the similar and closely related Mauritia genus.-Description:...
, and Lytocaryum
Lytocaryum
Lytocaryum is a monoecious genus of flowering plant in the palm family endemic to Brazil where two species are known. Palms once classified as Microcoelum are herein included; the genus is closely related to Syagrus, from which it is differentiated only by abundant tomentum, strongly versatile...
. The genus name combines the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
words for "scale" and "nut" and the species epithet is Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
for "thin".
Description
At just 2.5 cm in width, the clustering trunks reach no higher than 3.5 m and are covered at the top by old, adherent leaf bases. The small, reduplicate leavesLeaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are palmate and borne on 60 cm petioles. Each leaf is split in half, to the petiole, with each half further divided into 2 - 11 narrow segments.
It is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants, both with interfoliar inflorescences, branched to two orders, which are superficially similar. Female plants produce oblong or ovoid fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
, usually with one seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
, red to brown in color and covered in scales.
Distribution and habitat
Spread throughout Brazil'sBrazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
Amazon
Amazon Basin
The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...
region, out to Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, the wetter parts of Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
and Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, it is an undergrowth palm found in low land rain forest. In habitat the leaves are often used in thatch.