genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of climbing
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
rattan
Rattan, also spelled ratan (from Malay language, Malay: ''rotan''), is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the clos ...
s are uncommon in cultivation and poorly understood by taxonomists. Closely related to '' Laccosperma'', they are differentiated by the near complete absence of bracts and bracteoles.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. / The name is from Greek meaning 'without a spathe'.
Description
The slender, high-climbing trunks are naturally clustering and can reach up to in length. The pinnate leaves range from to 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
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
, each containing one to three
seed
In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...
s.Riffle, Robert L. and Craft, Paul (2003) ''An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms''. Portland: Timber Press. /
Tanzania
Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
where they grow in
swamps
A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
and alongside rivers.
Species
Accepted species:Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J. (2005). World Checklist of Palms: 1-223. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
* '' 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
''Eremospatha'' is a genus of climbing flowering plants in the palm family found in tropical Africa. These rattans are uncommon in cultivation and poorly understood by taxonomists. Closely related to '' Laccosperma'', they are differentiated b ...
Eremospatha quinquecostulata
''Eremospatha'' is a genus of climbing flowering plants in the arecaceae, palm family found in tropical Africa. These rattans are uncommon in cultivation and poorly understood by taxonomists. Closely related to ''Laccosperma'', they are differe ...
Eremospatha tessmanniana
''Eremospatha'' is a genus of climbing flowering plants in the palm family found in tropical Africa. These rattans are uncommon in cultivation and poorly understood by taxonomists. Closely related to '' Laccosperma'', they are differentiated b ...
'' Becc. - Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea
* ''
Eremospatha wendlandiana
''Eremospatha wendlandiana'' is a rattan-like liana of the family Arecaceae native to West Africa. The leaves are once-pinnate and the Leaflet (botany), leaflets are dichotomously veined not unlike Ginkgo, but with a round form.
Description
...
'' Dammer ex Becc. - Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Cabinda