Chelyocarpus

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

Trithrinax

	Itaya

	Sabinaria

Chelyocarpus

Cryosophila

Schippia

Thrinax

	Leucothrinax

	Hemithrinax

	Zombia

	Coccothrinax

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

The name Chelyocarpus is derived from Ancient Greek and means "turtle carapace-fruited", a reference to cracked surface of the fruits of the genus, which resemble the shell of a turtle.^[3] The species was first described by German botanist Carl Dammer in 1920.^[1] In the first edition of Genera Palmarum (1987), Natalie Uhl and John Dransfield placed the genus Chelyocarpus in subfamily Coryphoideae, tribe Corypheae and subtribe Thrinacinae^[4] Subsequent phylogenetic analysis showed that the Old World and New World members of Thrinacinae are not closely related. As a consequence, Chelyocarpus and related genera have been placed in their own tribe, Cryosophileae.^[5] Chelyocarpus is considered to form the 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

^ ^a ^b "Chelyocarpus". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
^ Cano, Ángela; Bacon, Christine D.; Stauffer, Fred W.; Antonelli, Alexandre; Serrano-Serrano, Martha L.; Perret, Mathieu (2018). "The roles of dispersal and mass extinction in shaping palm diversity across the Caribbean". Journal of Biogeography. 45 (6): 1432–1443. Bibcode:2018JBiog..45.1432C. doi:10.1111/jbi.13225. ISSN 1365-2699.
^ ^a ^b ^c Henderson, Andrew; Gloria Galeano; Rodrigo Bernal (1995). Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. 38–39. ISBN 978-0-691-08537-1.
^ 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.
^ Dransfield, John; Natalie W. Uhl; Conny B. Asmussen; William J. Baker; Madeline M. Harley; Carl E. Lewis (2005). "A New Phylogenetic Classification of the Palm Family, Arecaceae". Kew Bulletin. 60 (4): 559–69. JSTOR 25070242.
^ Roncal, Julissa; Scott Zona; Carl E. Lewis (2008). "Molecular Phylogenetic Studies of Caribbean Palms (Arecaceae) and Their Relationships to Biogeography and Conservation". Botanical Review. 74 (1): 78–102. Bibcode:2008BotRv..74...78R. doi:10.1007/s12229-008-9005-9.