Adonidia

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Cladus: Commelinids
Ordo: Arecales

Familia: Arecaceae
Subfamilia: Arecoideae
Tribus: Areceae
Subtribus: Ptychospermatinae
Genus: Adonidia
Species: A. merrillii
Name

Adonidia Becc., 1919
References

Beccari, O. (1919) Philippine Journal of Science 14: 329. BHL
Govaerts, R. et al. 2015. Adonidia in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2015 Sept. 3. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2015. Adonidia. Published online. Accessed: Sept. 3 2015.
Tropicos.org 2015. Adonidia. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 3 Sept. 2015.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Adonidia in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 08-Apr-12.

Vernacular names

Adonidia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Arecaceae, native to the Philippines and Borneo.[2]

History of the genus

The genus was originally described in 1919. In 1957, it was transferred to the genus Veitchia. In 2008, further study returned it to its own genus. Thus, some older photos from the 1957-2008 period use Veitchia instead of Adonidia.[3]

Another similar palm, the genus Manjekia maturbongsii was first described in 2012 as Adonidia maturbongsii,[4] but in 2014 it was moved to its own genus, Manjekia.
Current status

At present there are two recognized species.[5] The first, and better known, is the Manila palm (Adonidia merrillii), which is native to the Philippines (Palawan and Danjugan Island) and is reportedly naturalized in the West Indies.[6] The second is Adonidia dransfieldii, native to Sabah in Borneo and first described in 2015.[3]

Some palms sold in retail outlets as "Adonidia" are in fact Alexander palms, which are similar but even thinner.

Fruits of a dwarf royal palm or Christmas palm (Adonidia merrillii) photographed in Ghana

Palm and fruits. Cultivar, Bahia, Brazil

References

Beccari, Philippine Journal of Science 14:329. 1919 Type:A. merrillii
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. ISBN 978-1-84246-182-2.
Wong, Khoon; Sugao, John; Low, Yee Wen (1 March 2015). "Adonidia dransfieldii, a threatened new palm from Sabah, Borneo". Palms. 59: 5–14. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
W.J.Baker & Heatubun, Palms (1999+) 56: 134 (2012).
Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Adonidia
Energy Development Corporation (EDC) (2020). "Adonidia merrillii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T38747A67530097. Retrieved 18 August 2021.