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''Aiphanes minima'' is a spiny
palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae ** List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (b ...
tree which is native to the insular Caribbean from
Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and t ...
to Grenada, and widely cultivated elsewhere. Usually tall, it sometimes grows as an
understorey In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abov ...
tree and only in height.


Description

''Aiphanes minima'' is a single-stemmed, spiny palm with
pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, an ...
ly compound leaves—rows of leaflets emerge on either side of the axis of the leaf in a feather-like or fern-like pattern. Stems are usually tall, though occasionally as little as tall and in diameter. Younger stems are covered with rings of black spines, but on older stems these are often lost. Individuals bear 10–20 leaves which are pinnately compound, bearing 18 to 34 pairs of leaflets along a central
rachis In biology, a rachis (from the grc, ῥάχις [], "backbone, spine") is a main axis or "shaft". In zoology and microbiology In vertebrates, ''rachis'' can refer to the series of articulated vertebrae, which encase the spinal cord. In this c ...
that is long. The leaflets are borne in a single plane, and are usually linear in shape, but sometimes widen towards their apex, especially in
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
. The lower surface of the leaf can be covered with spines up to long or can be unarmed; the upper surface has a row of spines about long along the midrib. The rachis can be unarmed but is often covered with black spines up to long. The petiole, which connects the rachis with the stem, is long and covered with black spines up to long.Borchsenius & Bernal (1996), pp. 71–75


Taxonomy

''
Aiphanes ''Aiphanes'' is a genus of spiny palms which is native to tropical regions of South and Central America and the Caribbean.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families There are about 26 species in the genus (see below), ranging in size f ...
'' has been placed in the subfamily
Arecoideae The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm tree ...
, the
tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confl ...
Cocoseae Cocoseae is a tribe of cocosoid palms of the family Arecaceae. Description The fruit of the Cocoseae is a modified drupe, with a sclerenchymatous epicarp and a highly developed mesocarp, formed mainly by parenchyma . The endocarp is generally s ...
and the subtribe
Bactridinae Bactridinae is a subtribe of plants in the family Arecaceae found in the New World. Genera in the subtribe are: *'' Acrocomia'' – Americas *''Astrocaryum'' – Americas *''Aiphanes'' – NW South America, Caribbean *'' Bactris'' – South Amer ...
, together with ''
Desmoncus ''Desmoncus'' is a genus of mostly climbing, spiny palms native to the Neotropics. The genus extends from Mexico in the north to Brazil and Bolivia in the south, with two species present in the southeastern Caribbean ( Trinidad and the Win ...
'', ''
Bactris ''Bactris'' is a genus of spiny palms which are native to Mexico, South and Central America and the Caribbean. Most species are small trees about tall, but some are large trees while others are shrubs with subterranean stems. They have simple o ...
'', ''
Acrocomia ''Acrocomia'' is a genus of palms which is native to the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico in the north, through Central America and the Caribbean, and through South America south to Argentina. Description ''Acrocomia'' is a genus of spiny, pinn ...
'' and ''
Astrocaryum ''Astrocaryum'' is a genus of about 36 to 40 species of palms native to Central and South America and Trinidad. Description ''Astrocaryum'' is a genus of spiny palms with pinnately compound leaves–rows of leaflets emerge on either side of the ...
''. In his 1932 revision of the genus, German botanist
Max Burret Karl Ewald Maximilian Burret, commonly known as Max Burret (6 June 1883 – 19 September 1964) was a German botanist. Burret was born in Saffig near Andernach in the Prussian Rhine Province. He originally studied law at Lausanne and Munich ...
divided ''Aiphanes'' into two subgenera, and placed ''A. minima'' in the subgenus ''Macroanthera''. In their 1996 monograph, Finn Borchsenius and
Rodrigo Bernal Rodrigo Bernal González (born June 6, 1959 in Medellín) is a Colombian botanist who specialises in the palm family. Bernal was a faculty member at the Institute of Natural Sciences, National University of Colombia until 2007. He received his ...
concluded that ''Macroanthera'' would be a viable taxon only if it were to be reduced to three species—'' A. aculeata'', '' A eggersii'' and ''A. minima''. However, this would leave the other subgenus, ''Brachyanthera'', as an overly broad and heterogeneous entity, and they decided to abandon Burrets use of subgenera.Borchsenius & Bernal (1996), p. 33 Borchsenius and Bernal placed all Caribbean ''Aiphanes'' (except those in
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, small ...
) in a single species, ''A. minima'', but this is not universally accepted. American botanist George Proctor disagreed with this, stating that he believed that there were several species present, and maintained that populations in
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
and the
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
should be maintained in a separate species, ''A. acanthophylla''.George R. Proctor, in Acevedo-Rodríguez & Strong (2005), pp. 138–139 In Dominica, palm systematist Scott Zona and colleagues documented the presence of two distinct populations of ''Aiphanes'' palms on the island—one which was larger and spinier, and the other that was smaller, more slender, and less spiny. This led them to speculate that this may represent a second species of ''Aiphanes''.


History

The first botanical description of the species was made by French botanist
Charles Plumier Charles Plumier (; 20 April 1646 – 20 November 1704) was a French botanist after whom the frangipani genus '' Plumeria'' is named. Plumier is considered one of the most important of the botanical explorers of his time. He made three botanizing ...
. Plumier made three trips to the
West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Great ...
between 1689 and 1695, and among his descriptions were two palm species that he named ''Palma dactylifera, aculeata, fructu corallino, major'' and ''Palma dactylifera, aculeata, fructu corallino, minor'', using pre-Linnean names. Both of these are now considered to belong to ''Aiphanes minima''. In 1763, Dutch botanist
Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin Nikolaus Joseph Freiherr von Jacquin (16 February 172726 October 1817) was a scientist who studied medicine, chemistry and botany. Biography Born in Leiden in the Netherlands, he studied medicine at Leiden University, then moved first to P ...
described the same species, using the name ''Palma Grigri Martinicensibus''.Borchsenius & Bernal (1996), p. 2 The oldest description of the species that is considered valid is
Joseph Gaertner Joseph Gaertner (12 March 1732 – 14 July 1791) was a German botanist, best known for his work on seeds, '' De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum'' (1788-1792). Biography He was born in Calw, and studied in Göttingen under Albrecht von Hal ...
's description of ''
Bactris ''Bactris'' is a genus of spiny palms which are native to Mexico, South and Central America and the Caribbean. Most species are small trees about tall, but some are large trees while others are shrubs with subterranean stems. They have simple o ...
minima'', which he published in 1791 in ''
De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum ''De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum'', also known by its standard botanical abbreviation ''Fruct. Sem. Pl.'', is a three-volume botanic treatise by Joseph Gaertner. The first volume was published in December 1788. The second volume was published ...
''. This name, which was based on a single fruit of unknown origins, is the basis for the modern name of the species. The name ''Aiphanes'' was coined a decade later by German botanist
Carl Ludwig Willdenow Carl Ludwig Willdenow (22 August 1765 – 10 July 1812) was a German botanist, pharmacist, and plant taxonomist. He is considered one of the founders of phytogeography, the study of the geographic distribution of plants. Willdenow was a ...
in 1801.


Distribution

''Aiphanes minima'' is native to the
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
,
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
, Dominica,
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea ...
,
Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindi ...
,
Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island and an Overseas department and region, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of ...
,
Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate ...
and Grenada and is widely cultivated elsewhere. It is the northernmost member of the genus, and the only species of ''
Aiphanes ''Aiphanes'' is a genus of spiny palms which is native to tropical regions of South and Central America and the Caribbean.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families There are about 26 species in the genus (see below), ranging in size f ...
'' that is absent from the mainland of
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...
.Borchsenius & Bernal (1996), pp. 26–30


Habitat and ecology

In the northern portion of its range, ''Aiphanes minima'' grows on limestone hills and is dependent on gaps in the
forest canopy In biology, the canopy is the aboveground portion of a plant cropping or crop, formed by the collection of individual plant crowns. In forest ecology, canopy also refers to the upper layer or habitat zone, formed by mature tree crowns an ...
to reach maturity. In the southern part it is a tree of the
subcanopy In biology, the canopy is the aboveground portion of a plant cropping or crop, formed by the collection of individual plant crowns. In forest ecology, canopy also refers to the upper layer or habitat zone, formed by mature tree crowns an ...
or forest
understorey In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abov ...
, as it does in Turner's Hall Woods in Barbados. The flowers have a sweet scent and are believed to be pollinated by bees.Borchsenius & Bernal (1996), pp. 30–32 The fruit, flowers and seeds of ''Aiphanes minima'' are consumed by the
vulnerable Vulnerable may refer to: General * Vulnerability * Vulnerability (computing) * Vulnerable adult * Vulnerable species Music Albums * ''Vulnerable'' (Marvin Gaye album), 1997 * ''Vulnerable'' (Tricky album), 2003 * ''Vulnerable'' (The Used album) ...
Saint Vincent amazon The Saint Vincent amazon (''Amazona guildingii'') also known as Saint Vincent parrot, is a large, approximately 40 cm long, multi-colored amazon parrot with a yellowish white, blue and green head, greenish-bronze upperparts plumage, and viol ...
(''Amazona guildingii'') and is also considered a potentially important food species for the critically endangered
Puerto Rican amazon The Puerto Rican amazon (''Amazona vittata''), also known as the Puerto Rican parrot (Puerto Rican Spanish: ''cotorra puertorriqueña'') or ''iguaca'', is the only extant parrot endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico, and belongs to the Neo ...
(''Amazona vittata'').


Uses

''Aiphanes minima'' is widely planted as an ornamental.Henderson ''et al.'' (1996) pp. 171–174 The
endosperm The endosperm is a tissue produced inside the seeds of most of the flowering plants following double fertilization. It is triploid (meaning three chromosome sets per nucleus) in most species, which may be auxin-driven. It surrounds the embryo an ...
of the seeds is edible and is similar in taste to that of a
coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or ...
.Borchsenius & Bernal (1996), pp. 14–15


See also

* List of ''Aiphanes'' species


Notes


References

* * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q4697599
minima In mathematical analysis, the maxima and minima (the respective plurals of maximum and minimum) of a function, known collectively as extrema (the plural of extremum), are the largest and smallest value of the function, either within a given ...
Flora of Trinidad and Tobago Flora of the Dominican Republic Flora of the Windward Islands Flora without expected TNC conservation status