Geonoma mooreana

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Geonoma (geo-NO-mah)
mooreana (mohr-eh-AHN-ah)
GeoMoo.jpg
Photo-Rare Palm Seeds.com
Scientific Classification
Genus: Geonoma (geo-NO-mah)
Species:
mooreana (mohr-eh-AHN-ah)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
America
America.gif
Morphology
Habit: Solitary
Leaf type: Pinnate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
None.

Habitat and Distribution

Panamá.
Missouri Botanical Garden.
From 8°31-9°20'N and 80°37-82°35'W in western Panama at 607 (180-966) m elevation in lowland rainforest.

Description

Palms 2.3 (1.5-3.5) m tall; stems 2.4 m tall, 1.4 (1.2-1.7) cm in diameter, clustered, cane-like; internodes 1.7 (1.0-2.8) cm long, yellowish and smooth. Leaves 9 per stem, regularly pinnate and the pinnae with 1 mainvein only, not plicate, bases of blades running diagonally into the rachis; sheaths 17.1 (11.5-22.0) cm long; petioles 35.5 (12.0-59.0) cm long, drying green or yellowish; rachis 67.0 (38.0-78.5) cm long, 4.2 (2.6-5.3) mm in diameter veins raised and rectangular in cross-section adaxially; pinnae 33(26-49) per side of rachis; basal pinna 25.4(14.0-38.0) cm long, 0.5 (0.3-0.5) cm wide, forming an angle of 68 (47-89)° cm with the rachis; apical pinna 13.7 (10.0-16.7) cm long, 1.2(0.5-2.8) cm wide, forming an angle of 26( 15-40)° with the rachis. Inflorescences branched 3-4 orders; prophylls and peduncular bracts not ribbed with elongate, unbranched fibers, flattened, deciduous or persistent; prophylls 12.8 (8.1-20.9) cm long, short, asymmetrically apiculate, the margins curved around the stem, the surfaces flat with dense, felty, brown tomentum, prophyll equal to and early deciduous with the peduncular bract, the surfaces not ridged, without unequally wide ridges; peduncular bracts 12.2 (8.0-19.0) cm long, well-developed, inserted 0.4 (0.3-0.7) cm above the prophyll; peduncles 11.5 (7.5-16.0) cm long, 6.0 (4.2-8.5) mm in diameter; rachillae 108 (78-136), 13.2 (11.0-15.0) cm long, 0.8 (0.3-1.0) mm in diameter, the surfaces without spiky, fibrous projections or ridges, drying brown, with faint to pronounced, short, transverse ridges, filiform with extended narrowed sections between the flower pits; flower pits alternately arranged (sometimes distorted by twisting and contracting of rachillae), glabrous internally; proximal lips without a central notch before anthesis, not recurved after anthesis, not hood-shaped; proximal and distal lips drying the same color as the rachillae, joined to form a raised cupule, the margins not overlapping; distal lips well-developed; staminate and pistillate petals not emergent, not valvate throughout; staminate flowers deciduous after anthesis; stamens 6; thecae diverging at anthesis, inserted almost directly onto the filament apices, the connectives bifid but scarcely developed; anthers short and curled over at anthesis; non-fertilized pistillate flowers deciduous after anthesis; staminodial tubes crenulate or shallowly lobed at the apex, those of non-fertilized pistillate flowers not projecting and persistent after anthesis; fruits 5.6 (4.4-6.7) mm long, 4.5 (4.1-5.0) mm in diameter, the bases without a prominent stipe, the apices not conical, the surfaces not splitting at maturity, without fibers emerging, bumpy from the numerous, subepidermal, tangential, short fibers present, these coming to a point at fruit apices; locular epidermis without operculum, smooth, without pores. (Henderson, A.J. (2011) A revision of Geonoma. Phytotaxa 17: 1-271.)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.

Taxonomic notes: - Geonoma mooreana is closely related to G. scoparia from Costa Rica. It differs from this species in its yellowish, smooth internodes.

Subspecific variation:- No trait varies within this species. Specimens come from three separate areas but there are too few specimens to test for differences, and the gaps may be artifacts caused by insufficient collecting. (Henderson, A.J. (2011) A revision of Geonoma. Phytotaxa 17: 1-271.)/Palmweb.

Culture

Cold Hardiness Zone: 10a

Comments and Curiosities

Etymology: Specific epithet, is in honor of Dr. Harold E. Moore Jr. (1917-1980) botanist.

An amazingly elegant small palm native to rainforests on the Atlantic slope in western Panama between about 100 and 1200 m (330 and 3900 ft.) with thin stems and beautiful, flat, slightly arching, very finely pinnate leaves with narrow leaflets that have very thin, lax tips. The new leaf unfolds in a pretty pink tone. The much branched inflorescence is red and carries small, round fruit which are black when ripe. It would make a splendid ornamental but is barely known in cultivation. It would be best suited to a protected spot in the tropical or warm temperate garden. (RPS.com)



External Links

References

Phonetic spelling of Latin names by edric.

Special thanks to Geoff Stein, (Palmbob) for his hundreds of photos.

Special thanks to Palmweb.org, Dr. John Dransfield, Dr. Bill Baker & team, for their volumes of information and photos.

Glossary of Palm Terms; Based on the glossary in Dransfield, J., N.W. Uhl, C.B. Asmussen-Lange, W.J. Baker, M.M. Harley & C.E. Lewis. 2008. Genera Palmarum - Evolution and Classification of the Palms. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. All images copyright of the artists and photographers (see images for credits).

Henderson, A.J. (2011) A revision of Geonoma. Phytotaxa 17: 1-271.


Many Special Thanks to Ed Vaile for his long hours of tireless editing and numerous contributions.

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