Borasseae

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

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

Familia: Arecaceae
Subfamilia: Coryphoideae
Tribus: Borasseae
Subtribus: Hyphaeninae - Lataniinae
Name

Borasseae Mart. ex Dumort. Gen. Pl. 250. (1837)

Type genus: Borassus L. Sp. Pl. 2: 1187. (1753)

References

Martius, C.F.P. von (1837) Genera Plantarum 250. BHL
Dransfield, J., Uhl, N.W., Asmussen, C.B., Baker, W.J., Harley, M.M. & Lewis, C.E. 2005. A New Phylogenetic Classification of the Palm Family, Arecaceae. Kew Bulletin 60 (4): 559–569. JSTOR Stable PDF. Reference page.
Dransfield, J., Uhl, N.W., Asmussen, C.B., Baker, W.J., Harley, M.M. & Lewis, C.E. 2008. Genera palmarum: The Evolution and Classification of Palms. Kew Publishing: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ISBN 9781842461822 Reference page.
Romanov, M. S., Bobrov, A. V. C., Wijesundara, D. S. A., & Romanova, E. S. 2011. Pericarp development and fruit structure in borassoid palms (Arecaceae–Coryphoideae–Borasseae). Annals of Botany mcr148. DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcr148 Full text PDF
Tropicos.org 2015. Borasseae. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 5 Oct. 2015.

Vernacular names
English: Borassoid Palms

Borasseae is a tribe in the palm subfamily Coryphoideae.[1][2] The tribe ranges from southern Africa and Madagascar north through the Arabian Peninsula to India, Indochina,, Indonesia and New Guinea. Several genera are restricted to islands in the Indian Ocean. The two largest genera, Hyphaene and Borassus, are also the most widespread.[3]

Description

Borassoid palms typically have large, column-like trunks, though several species of Hyphaene have branching or clustered stems. The leaves are large, palmate and often with spines or sharp edges along the petioles. Leaves are retained on young palm stems, later falling to reveal prominent scars. All genera in the Borasseae are dioecious, with separate male and female trees; they are pleonanthic, flowering regularly for many years. Inflorescences are large and pendulous; the male flowers are much smaller than the female and are borne in clusters within catkin-like structures. Fruits contain hard, woody endocarps surrounding the seeds; they range in size from date-sized (Latania) to the massive fruits of Lodoicea, which contain the largest seed in the world.[3][4][5]
Taxonomy

The Borasseae is one of eight tribes in subfamily Coryphoideae.[6] The tribe is monophyletic and most phylogenetic studies place it as sister to tribe Corypheae, though it is also close to tribe Caryoteae and tribe Chuniophoeniceae.[5][6] Together, the four tribes make up the syncarpous clade, all members of which have syncarpous ovaries with united carpels.[3]

The eight genera of tribe Borasseae split evenly into two subtribes. In the palms of subtribe Hyphaenieae, both the male and female flowers are sunken within pits and the fruits are stalked and typically one-seeded.[3] Bismarckia (1 sp., B. nobilis) and Satranala (1 sp., S. decussilvae) are endemic to Madagascar, Medemia (1 sp., M. argun) is restricted to Egypt and Sudan, while Hyphaene (8 spp.)[7] ranges from southern Africa and Madagascar to western India. In subtribe Lataniieae, only the male flowers are sunken in pits and the fruits are sessile, with 1-3 seeds.[3] Lodoicea (1 sp., L. maldivica) is endemic to the Seychelles, Latania (3 spp.) is endemic to the Mascarene Islands, while Borassodendron has two species, one in Borneo (B. borneense) and one in the Malay Peninsula (B. machadonis). The last of the genera, Borassus (5 spp.),[8] is the most widespread and is found in Sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, Southeast Asia and New Guinea.[8] An extinct genus of the subtribe Hyphaeninae is known from the Maastrichtian aged Intertrappean Beds of India.[9]

Subtribe	Image	Genus	Species
Hyphaenieae		Bismarckia Hildebr. & H.Wendl.	Bismarckia nobilis
		Satranala Beentje & J.Dransf.	Satranala decussilvae
		Medemia Wuert. ex H.Wendl.	Medemia argun
		Hyphaene Gaertn.	Hyphaene compressa H.Wendl. - eastern Africa from Ethiopia to Mozambique Hyphaene coriacea Gaertn. - eastern Africa from South Africa; Madagascar; Juan de Nova Island Hyphaene dichotoma (J.White Dubl. ex Nimmo) Furtado - India, Sri Lanka Hyphaene guineensis Schumach. & Thonn. - western and central Africa from Liberia to Angola Hyphaene macrosperma H.Wendl. - Benin Hyphaene petersiana Klotzsch ex Mart. - southern and eastern Africa from South Africa to Tanzania Hyphaene reptans Becc. - Somalia, Kenya, Yemen Hyphaene thebaica (L.) Mart. - northeastern, central and western Africa from Egypt to Somalia and west to Senegal and Mauritania; Middle East (Palestine, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Yemen)
Lataniieae		Lodoicea Comm. ex DC.	Lodoicea maldivica, sea coconut, coco de mer, or double coconut
		Latania Comm. ex Juss.	Latania loddigesii Mart. - (blue latan palm, latanier de l'Ile Ronde) from Mauritius Latania lontaroides (Gaertn.) H.E.Moore - (red latan palm, latanier de la Réunion) from Réunion Latania verschaffeltii Lem. - (yellow latan palm, latanier de Rodrigues) from Rodrigues Island
		Borassodendron Becc.	Borassodendron borneense J.Dransf. - Borneo Borassodendron machadonis (Ridl.) Becc. - southern Thailand, southern Myanmar, Peninsular Malaysia
		Borassus L.	Borassus aethiopum - African palmyra palm, Rônier (and other names) (tropical Africa & Madagascar) Borassus akeassii - Ake Assi's palmyra palm (West and Central Africa) Borassus flabellifer - Asian palmyra palm/lontar palm/doub palm (southern Asia from India to, Indonesia) Borassus heineanus - New Guinea palmyra palm (New Guinea) Borassus madagascariensis - Madagascar palmyra palm (Madagascar)

Conservation

Many species in tribe Borasseae are threatened with extinction (36% of total recognized species):[10][11]

Borassodendron machadonis - Vulnerable
Borassus madagascariensis - Endangered
Latania loddigesii - Endangered
Latania lontaroides - Endangered
Latania verschaffeltii - Endangered
Lodoicea maldivica - Endangered
Medemia argun - Critically Endangered
Satranala decussilvae - Endangered

References

Baker, William J.; Dransfield, John (2016). "Beyond Genera Palmarum: progress and prospects in palm systematics". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 182 (2): 207–233. doi:10.1111/boj.12401.
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.
Dransfield, John; Uhl, Natalie W.; Asmussen, Conny B.; Baker, William J.; Harley, Madeline M.; Lewis, Carl E. (2008). Genera Palmarum - The Evolution and Classification. International Palm Society. ISBN 9781842461822.
Uhl, Natalie W.; Dransfield, John (1987). Genera Palmarum: A Classification of Palms Based on the Work of Harold E. Moore, Jr. Libert Hyde Hortorium. ISBN 978-0935868302.
Bayton, Ross P. (2005). Borassus L. and the Borassoid palms: systematics and evolution. PhD Thesis. University of Reading.
Dransfield, John; Uhl, Natalie W.; Asmussen, Conny B.; Baker, William J.; Harley, Madeline M.; Lewis, Carl E. (2005). "A new phylogenetic classification of the palm family, Arecaceae". Kew Bulletin. 60: 559–569 – via ResearchGate.
Stauffer, Fred W. "Hyphaene – A multidisciplinary study". www.hyphaene.org. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
Bayton, R. P. (2007). "A Revision of Borassus L. (Arecaceae)". Kew Bulletin. 62 (4): 561–585. JSTOR 20443389.
Matsunaga, Kelly K S; Manchester, Steven R; Srivastava, Rashmi; Kapgate, Dashrath K; Smith, Selena Y (2019-06-21). "Fossil palm fruits from India indicate a Cretaceous origin of Arecaceae tribe Borasseae". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 190 (3): 260–280. doi:10.1093/botlinnean/boz019. ISSN 0024-4074.
"The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
Govaerts, R.; Dransfield, J. (2009). World Checklist of Palms. London: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ISBN 9781842460849.