Chuniophoeniceae

Chuniophoeniceae
Chuniophoenix nana in cultivation at Garfield Park Conservatory
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Subfamily: Coryphoideae
Tribe: Chuniophoeniceae
J.Dransf., N.W.Uhl, C. Asmussen, W.J. Baker, M.M. Harley & C.E. Lewis
Type genus
Chuniophoenix
Genera

Chuniophoenix Burret
Kerriodoxa J.Dransf.
Nannorrhops H.Wendl.
Tahina J.Dransf. & Rakotoarinivo

Chuniophoeniceae is a tribe of palms in subfamily Coryphoideae of plant family Arecaceae.[1][2] The four genera within the tribe are morphologically dissimilar and do not have overlapping distributions. Three of the genera are monotypic, while the fourth genus (Chuniophoenix) has three species.[3][4]

Description

Outwardly, the palms in the four genera of Chuniophoeniceae appear quite different. Chuniophoenix are small palms from the forest understory with clustered stems; Kerriodoxa is a squat, single-stemmed rainforest palm; Nannorrhops is a sprawling desert palm with branching stems; and Tahina is a massive solitary palm from exposed limestone outcrops.[3][5][4][6] They differ significantly in their flowering strategies, too. Chuniophoenix species flower regularly throughout their lives (pleonanthic) and produce hermaphroditic flowers (rarely single gender); Kerriodoxa are also pleonanthic, but are always dioecious; Nannorrhops stems die after flowering (hapaxanthic), though the much-branched plant survives; Tahina produces a massive terminal inflorescence and dies after fruiting. All Chuniophoeniceae have palmate leaves with induplicate folds and tubular bracts partially enclosing the flowers.[3][4][5][6]

Taxonomy

Chuniophoeniceae is one of eight tribes in subfamily Coryphoideae.[7] The tribe is monophyletic and closely related to tribes Caryoteae, Corypheae and Borasseae, forming the syncarpous clade.[3][7][6][8] In a previous classification, prior to the discovery of Tahina, the three other genera were placed in tribe Corypheae, subtribe Coryphinae, together with the genus Corypha.[9] Coincidentally, Corypha and Tahina both share the strategy of producing a massive display of flowers only once before dying.[6]

The four genera have widely disjunct distributions. Chuniophoenix (3 spp.) is found in southern China and Vietnam; Kerriodoxa (1 sp., K. elegans) is restricted to peninsular Thailand; Nannorrhops (1 sp., N. ritchiana) is found in parts of Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the southeastern Arabian Peninsula; while Tahina (1 sp., T. spectabilis) is endemic to a small area of northwestern Madagascar.[3]

Genera

Image Genus Living Species
Chuniophoenix Burret, 1937
Kerriodoxa J.Dransf., 1983
Nannorrhops H.Wendl., 1879
Tahina J.Dransf. & Rakotoarinivo, 2008
  • Foliage of Chuniophoenix nana
    Foliage of Chuniophoenix nana
  • Distinctive white undersides to the leaves of Kerriodoxa elegans
    Distinctive white undersides to the leaves of Kerriodoxa elegans
  • Fruits of Kerriodoxa elegans
    Fruits of Kerriodoxa elegans
  • Silvery-blue foliage of Nannorrhops ritchiana
    Silvery-blue foliage of Nannorrhops ritchiana
  • Seedlings of Tahina spectabilis in cultivation
    Seedlings of Tahina spectabilis in cultivation

References

  1. ^ Baker, William J.; Dransfield, John (2016). "Beyond Genera Palmarum: progress and prospects in palm systematics". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 182 (2): 207–233. doi:10.1111/boj.12401.
  2. ^ Dransfield, John; Uhl, Natalie W.; Asmussen, Conny B.; Baker, William J.; Harley, Madeline M.; Lewis, Carl E. (2008). Genera Palmarum: The Evolution and Classification of Palms. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ISBN 978-1-84246-182-2.
  3. ^ a b c d e Dransfield, John; Uhl, Natalie W.; Asmussen, Conny B.; Baker, William J.; Harley, Madeline M.; Lewis, Carl E. (2008). Genera Palmarum - The Evolution and Classification of Palms. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ISBN 9781842461822.
  4. ^ a b c Henderson, Andrew (2015-07-01). "A revision of Chuniophoenix (Arecaceae)". Phytotaxa. 218 (2): 163. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.218.2.6. ISSN 1179-3163.
  5. ^ a b Dransfield, John (1983). "Kerriodoxa, a new coryphoid palm genus from Thailand". Principes. 27: 3–11.
  6. ^ a b c d Dransfield, John; Rakotoarinivo, Mijoro; Baker, William J.; Bayton, Ross P.; Fisher, Jack B.; Horn, James W.; Leroy, Bruno; Metz, Xavier (2008). "A new Coryphoid palm genus from Madagascar". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 156 (1): 79–91. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2007.00742.x. ISSN 0024-4074.
  7. ^ a b Dransfield, John (2005). "A new phylogenetic classification of the palm family, Arecaceae". Kew Bulletin. 60: 559–569 – via ResearchGate.
  8. ^ Bayton, Ross P. (2005). Borassus L. and the borassoid palms: systematics and evolution, PhD thesis. University of Reading.
  9. ^ Uhl, Natalie W.; Dransfield, John (1987). Genera Palmarum: A Classification of Palms Based on the Work of Harold E. Moore, Jr. L.H. Bailey Hortorium. ISBN 9780935868302.