A revision of Geonoma (Arecaceae)
Author
Henderson, Andrew
text
Phytotaxa
2011
2011-02-18
17
1
271
journal article
24911
10.11646/phytotaxa.17.1
65962ba7-eec1-40e7-aed6-cef94e99ca39
1179-3163
3538362
67d.
Geonoma undata
subsp.
edulis
(Wendland ex Spruce) Henderson
,
comb. & stat. nov.
Basionym:
Geonoma edulis
Wendland ex
Spruce (1871: 106)
. Type:
COSTA RICA
.
Cartago
: Turrialba, 1857,
H. Wendland s.n.
(
holotype
K!).
Geonoma seleri
Burret (1930a: 211)
. Type:
GUATEMALA
.
Huehuetenango
: Yalambohoch, no date,
E. Seler 2757
(
holotype
B, destroyed).
Neotype
(designated by
de Nevers & Grayum 1998
):
GUATEMALA
. Alta Vera Paz: between Sepacuite and Panzas,
24 June 1904
,
O. Cook & Doyle 327
(
neotype
US
!).
Geonoma polyneura
Burret (1932b: 500)
. Type:
GUATEMALA
. Alta Vera Paz: near Finca Sepacuite,
19 March 1902
,
O. Cook & R. Griggs 36
(
holotype
US
!, isotype BH!).
Leaves
veins raised and rectangular in cross-section adaxially; basal pinna 4.9(0.8–13.7) cm wide; apical pinna 12.6(5.7–23.2) cm wide.
Inflorescences
prophyll margins with irregular, spine-like projections; flower pits usually spirally arranged, not distantly spaced.
Distribution and habitat:—
From 7°18’–
16°19’N
and 80°06’–
93°15’W
in
Mexico
,
Guatemala
,
Honduras
,
Nicaragua
,
Costa Rica
, and
Panama
at 1523(850–2400) m elevation in lowland or montane rainforest (
Fig. 42
).
There is geographic discontinuity and specimens occur in two areas separated by the lowlands of southern
Nicaragua
. There are few significant differences in variables between specimens from these two areas (basal pinna length, basal pinna width, prophyll length). There is variation in pit arrangement throughout the range of the subspecies, from spirally arranged to irregularly decussate or tricussate. A few specimens have the pits loosely spiraled proximally and tricussate or decussate distally, or tricussate proximally and decussate distally.
One specimen (
Evans 1459
) from
Honduras
is larger in inflorescence size than other specimens from that area and has a narrow, elongate prophyll, more like that of
subsp.
hoffmanniana
.
The range of this subspecies overlaps with that of
subsp.
hoffmanniana
in several places—northern
Nicaragua
, Atlantic and Pacific slopes of the Central Cordillera in
Costa Rica
, and both slopes on the Cordillera de Talamanca in
Costa Rica
and
Panama
. In this last area specimens are much larger in size than those from other areas (as are most specimens of
subsp.
hoffmanniana
, which see).
Hammel (2003)
considered that specimens of
subsp.
edulis
(as
G. edulis
) and larger, sympatric specimens of
subsp.
hoffmanniana
(as
G. hoffmanniana
) were ‘virtually indistinguishable’ in this area.
All specimens from the Cordillera de Talamanca and all others from
Panama
have much thicker peduncles than other specimens.