Rhopalostylidinae is a botanical subtribe consisting of two genera of palms from Australia and New Zealand, Hedyscepe and Rhopalostylis.[1][2] These two genera were formerly included in Archontophoenicinae, to which they are morphologically similar (Dowe 2010:233), until a recent revision (Dransfield, Uhl et al., 2005).
Description
The palms in this subtribe are medium-sized palms, with well-developed, distinct crownshafts and strictly pinnate leaves with generally short and massive petioles. The inflorescences are branched to two or three orders, with the prophyll and penduncular bracts similar (Uhl and Dransfield 1987:367).
The leaves of Rhopalostylis tend to be held rigidly upright, especially in R. sapida from the northern North Island, making the palm somewhat resemble a feather duster.
Some studies throw doubt on the inclusion of Hedyscepe as a member of the Rhopalostylidinae. In some (but not all) molecular phylogenetic analyses, Hedyscepe is nested in the New Caledonia endemic Basselinia.[3]
^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. ISBN978-1-84246-182-2.
Dransfield, John; Uhl, Natalie W; Asmussen, Conny B; Baker, William J; Harley, Madeline M; Lewis, Carl E (2005). "A new phylogenetic classification of the palm family, Arecaceae". Kew Bulletin. 60.
Dowe, John Leslie (2010). Australian Palms: Biogeography, Ecology And Systematics. Collingwood, Victoria: CSIRO Publishing.
Uhl, Natalie W; Dransfield, John (1987). Genera Palmarum - A classification of palms based on the work of Harold E. Moore. Lawrence, Kansas: Allen Press. ISBN978-0-935868-30-2.
