Trithrinax is a genus of few 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...

s in the Arecaceae

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, that belong to the Coryphoideae subfamily, a not very evolved lineage. The name is derived of ancient greek, where tri means three, and thrinax trident. It was named as such in 1837 by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius

Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius

Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius was a German botanist and explorer.Martius was born at Erlangen, where he graduated M.D. in 1814, publishing as his thesis a critical catalogue of plants in the botanic garden of the university...

 a German botanist and explorer.

Trithrinax species are quite spiny fan palms native to 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...

. They are also resistant to cold, heat, wind, drought, poor soils and other adverse environmental conditions. They germinate fast but their growth is distinctively slow.

Description

Common features of any Trithrinax specimen are:

• Flowers: Inflorescences, in the order of hundreds of units. Three sepals, three petals, six stamens and three carpels.
• Stem: Dead foliage is kept as a thick and spiny coat around it.
• Leaves: Fan shaped, composed of strong resistant fibers.
• Shoot
  Shoot
  Shoots are new plant growth, they can include stems, flowering stems with flower buds, and leaves. The new growth from seed germination that grows upward is a shoot where leaves will develop...
  
  s: Red coloured.

Taxonomy

In the first edition of Genera Palmarum (1987), Natalie Uhl and John Dransfield

John Dransfield

John Dransfield is an honorary research fellow and former head of palm research at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom, as well as being an authority on the phylogenetic classification of palms....

 placed the genus Trithrinax in the subfamily Coryphoideae

Coryphoideae

Coryphoideae is a subfamily of the palm tree family, Arecaceae....

, the tribe

Tribe (biology)

In biology, a tribe is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes.Some examples include the tribes: Canini, Acalypheae, Hominini, Bombini, and Antidesmeae.-See also:* Biological classification* Rank...

 Corypheae

Corypheae

Corypheae is a tribe of palm trees in the subfamily Coryphoideae. The extinct palm Palaeoraphe is placed into the subtribe Livistoninae....

 and the subtribe Thrinacinae Subsequent phylogenetic analysis showed that the Old World

Old World

The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....

 and New World

New World

The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...

 members of the Thrinacinae are not closely related. As a consequence of this, Trithrinax and related genera have been placed in their own tribe, Cryosophileae

Cryosophileae

Cryosophileae is a tribe of palms in the subfamily Coryphoideae. The tribe ranges from southern South America, through Central America, into Mexico and the Caribbean...

.

Habitat

Trithrinax species are spread along vast subtropical zones of South America: Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

, Brazil

Brazil

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...

, Paraguay

Paraguay

Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

, Uruguay

Uruguay

Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...

, Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

. They prefer dry, open or forest clearing, environments, with moderate to cold winters.

Usage

Leaf fibers are used as raw material for textiles, rustic clothing, and handicrafts. Oil can also be extracted from seeds. Fruits are sometimes used locally, fermented, to produce alcoholic beverages.