Eremospatha

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

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

Familia: Arecaceae
Subfamilia: Calamoideae
Tribus: Lepidocaryeae
Subtribus: Ancistrophyllinae
Genus: Eremospatha
Species: E. barendii – E. cabrae – E. cuspidata – E. dransfieldii – E. haullevilleana – E. hookeri – E. laurentii – E. macrocarpa – E. quinquecostulata – E. tessmanniana – E. wendlandiana
Name

Eremospatha (G.Mann & H.Wendl.) Schaedtler, Hamburger Garten- Blumenzeitung 31: 163 (1875)

Type species: Eremospatha macrocarpa Schaedtler, Hamburger Garten- Blumenzeitung 31: 163 (1875)

Synonyms

Basionym
*Calamus subg. Eremospatha G. Mann & H. Wendl.

References

Schaedtler, G., 1875. Hamburger Garten- Blumenzeitung 31: 163.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2018. Eremospatha in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Dec. 12. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2018. Eremospatha. Published online. Accessed: Dec. 12 2018.
Tropicos.org 2018. Eremospatha. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Dec. 12.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Eremospatha in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 08-Apr-12.

Vernacular names

Eremospatha is a genus of climbing flowering plants in the palm family found in tropical Africa.[2] These rattans are uncommon in cultivation and poorly understood by taxonomists;. Closely related to Laccosperma, they differentiated by the near complete absence of bracts and bracteoles.[3] The name is from Greek meaning "without a spathe".

Description

The slender, high-climbing trunks are naturally clustering and can reach up to 45 m in length. The pinnate leaves range from 30 cm to 2.5 m on short, armed petioles; the rachis, leaf margins and cirri are also armed with spines. They are hermaphroditic, with both male and female reproductive organs present in each flower. The pale blooms are fragrant and produce a red to brown, scaly fruit, each containing one to three seeds.[4]
Distribution and habitat

These palms are native to the rain forest of west Africa, the Congo Basin, and to Tanzania where they grow in swamps and alongside rivers.
Species

Accepted species:[2][5]

Eremospatha barendii Sunderl. - Cameroon
Eremospatha cabrae (De Wild. & T.Durand) De Wild. - Zaire, Congo-Brazzaville, Cabinda, Gabon, Central African Republic
Eremospatha cuspidata (G.Mann & H.Wendl.) H.Wendl. - Zaire, Congo-Brazzaville, Cabinda, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Central African Republic, Angola, Zambia
Eremospatha dransfieldii Sunderl. - Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana
Eremospatha haullevilleana De Wild. - Cameroon, Zaire, Congo-Brazzaville, Cabinda, Gabon, Central African Republic, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania
Eremospatha hookeri (G.Mann & H.Wendl.) H.Wendl. - Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea
Eremospatha laurentii De Wild. - Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Cameroon, Zaire, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea
Eremospatha macrocarpa Schaedtler - Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone
Eremospatha quinquecostulata Becc. - Nigeria, Cameroon
Eremospatha tessmanniana Becc. - Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea
Eremospatha wendlandiana Dammer ex Becc. - Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Cabinda

References

H.A. Wendland, Kerchove de Denterghem, Les Palmiers 244. 1878
Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
Uhl, Natalie W. and Dransfield, John (1987) Genera Palmarum - A classification of palms based on the work of Harold E. Moore. Lawrence, Kansas: Allen Press. ISBN 0-935868-30-5 / ISBN 978-0-935868-30-2
Riffle, Robert L. and Craft, Paul (2003) An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms. Portland: Timber Press. ISBN 0-88192-558-6 / ISBN 978-0-88192-558-6
Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J. (2005). World Checklist of Palms: 1-223. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.