Neonicholsonia

Neonicholsonia watsonii

Neonicholsonia watsonii is occurring in Central America palm and sole representative of the genus Neonicholsonia.

Features

Neonicholsonia is a single- stemmed palm. The trunk is partially underground, the overground part is short: 10 to 15, rarely to 100 cm. The crown consists of four to nine pinnate leaves. The leaf sheaths are closed and 20 to 30 cm long, but do not form a crown shaft. The petiole is 0.24 to 1 m long, rounded at the bottom, slightly wrinkled at the top. The rachis is 1 to 1.2 m long. The leaflets are regularly arranged on each side 11 to 15, alternate, linear- lanceolate and with a distinct midrib. Shed or punctures on the bottom are missing. The basal leaflets are 22 to 37 cm long, the middle 32-49 cm and the terminal leaflet 17-27 cm.

The inflorescence arises between the leaves and the buds, flowering and fruit time upright. The peduncle is 67-98 cm long with a diameter of 0.5 cm; he wears a few, brown, pressed- shed. The cover sheet is 18 to 45 inches long with 1.5 to 2 cm in diameter. The bract ( spathe 0.7 to 1 m long. A inflorescence axis is missing, the side axes are 27 to 51 cm long and covered with whitish hairs. The flowers are dense and slightly sunken in groups of three in the axes. During the last third of the lateral axes are they only pairs or individually.

The male flowers are 4-5 mm long, its sepals are fused together into a 2 to 3 mm long, three-lobed cupula. The petals are lanceolate and 4-5 mm long. The stamens are fused in the lower part, distally free. Three are about 3.5 mm long, three 2.5 mm. The anthers are 3 mm long. The stamp rudiment is three-lobed and 1-2 mm long. The female flowers are 4.5 mm long. Sepals are triangular and 3 mm long, the triangular petals, and 4 mm long. Staminodes absent. The gynoecium is single chamber and contains only one ovule; this sits basal.

The fruits are ellipsoidal, oblong, and 0.9 to 1 cm long with a diameter of 0.5 to 0.6 cm. The remains of the scars are at the top of the fruit. The exocarp is black. The seeds are approximately spherical, with a diameter of about 5 mm. The endosperm is deeply furrowed. The primary leaf is pinnate with a short rachis.

Dissemination

The species occurs in the Atlantic as the Pacific slopes of Honduras ( Department of Gracias a Dios ), Nicaragua ( Zelaya ), Costa Rica ( Alajuela, Guanacaste, Puntarenas) and Panama ( Chiriquí ). It grows in the understory of lowland tropical forests, mainly in low altitude, rarely even to 600 m or more ago. It grows on the slopes and ridge of low hills.

System

The genus Neonicholsonia is placed in the subfamily Arecoideae, Tribe Euterpeae within the family Arecaceae. A comprehensive cladistic analysis revealed a sister group, the genus Prestoea, but was missing in this analysis by the representatives of the tribe the genus Oenocarpus.

The only species of the genus is Neonicholsonia watsonii. Species and genus were first described in 1901 by Carl Lebrecht Udo Dammer.

Documents

• Andrew Henderson, Gloria Galeano: Euterpe, Prestoea, and Neonicholsonia ( Palmae: Euterpeinae ). Flora Neotropica, Volume 72, New York Botanical Garden Press, New York 1996, pp. 1-90. ( JSTOR )