''Desmoncus'' is a

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 mostly climbing, spiny palms native to the

Neotropics The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeog ...

. The genus extends from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in the north to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

in the south, with two species present in the southeastern

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

(

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

and the

Windward Islands The Windward Islands are the southern, generally larger islands of the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean islands or the West Indies. Located approximately between latitudes 10° and 16° N and longitudes 60° and 62° W, they extend from D ...

).Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J. (2005). World Checklist of Palms: 1–223. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Description

''Desmoncus'' is best known as a genus of climbing palms. Twenty-three of the 24 species recognised by Andrew Henderson in his revision of the genus are climbers; only one, '' D. stans'' is free-standing. Almost all Neotropical climbing palms belong to ''Desmoncus''—the one exception being ''

Chamaedorea ''Chamaedorea'' is a genus of 107 species of palms, native to subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas.Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, palms checklist''Chamaedorea''/ref>Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan ...

elatior''. ''Desmoncus'' leaves are pinnately compound and are made up of a

leaf sheath A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, fl ...

, petioles,

rachis In biology, a rachis (from the [], "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 case the ''rachi ...

, and individual leaflets. The ends of the leaves are modified into a climbing structure called a cirrus. Instead of leaflets, the cirrus usually has

grappling hook A grappling hook or grapnel is a device that typically has multiple hooks (known as ''claws'' or ''flukes'') attached to a rope or cable; it is thrown, dropped, sunk, projected, or fastened directly by hand to where at least one hook may cat ...

-like structures called acanthophylls; in some species the cirrus is less well developed and is almost absent in ''D. stans'', the non-climbing species. All parts of the leaves, including the leaflets themselves, are covered with spines. Most species have straight spines that are over long, but a few species have curved spines that are less than 1 cm long.

Taxonomy

John Dransfield and colleagues put ''Desmoncus'' in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

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 colloquially c ...

, the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

Cocoseae Cocoseae is a tribe (biology), 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 endocar ...

and the subtribe Bactridinae, together with ''

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 from ...

'', ''

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 Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, ...

'', ''

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 th ...

'' and ''

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 ...

''. The genus was described by

Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius Carl Friedrich Philipp (Karl Friedrich Philipp) von Martius (17 April 1794 – 13 December 1868) was a German botany, botanist and explorer. Between 1817 and 1820, he travelled 10,000 km through Brazil while collecting botanical specimens. His m ...

in 1824. The first species described was '' D. polyacanthos''. Martius later described six additional species that he placed in the genus. In this 1881 ''Flora Brasiliensis'',

Carl Georg Oscar Drude Carl Georg Oscar Drude (5 June 1852 in Braunschweig – 1 February 1933 in Dresden) was a German botanist. From 1870 he studied science and chemistry at the Collegium Carolinum in Braunschweig, relocating to the University of Göttingen the fol ...

recognised 17 species.

João Barbosa Rodrigues João Barbosa Rodrigues (June 22, 1842 – March 6, 1909) was considered one of Brazil's greatest botanists, known especially for his work on orchids and palms. For nearly two decades he was director of the Botanic Garden of Rio de Janeiro. Somet ...

recognised 28 species in his 1903 work ''Setum Palmarum Brasiliensis''.

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 Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian Rhine Province. He originally studied law at L ...

published a revision of the entire genus in 1934. Burret described nine new species and ended up recognising a total of 41 species. In the 1940s, Liberty Hyde Bailey added 14 additional species to the genus ''Desmoncus''. Jan Wessels Boer rejected the

species concept A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of classification and ...

used by Bailey, Barbosa Rodrigues, and Burret as being too narrow and ended up recognising only seven species In his 2011 revision of the genus, Andrew Henderson recognised 24 species.

Distribution

''Desmoncus'' ranges from Mexico in the north to Bolivia and Brazil in the south. Most species occur at lower elevations, but some species range as high as above sea level. The species are mostly found in lowland tropical rainforest. Twelve species occur in Colombia, the most species-rich country, while 10 are found in Brazil.

Species

24 species are accepted.''Desmoncus'' Mart.
''

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

''. Retrieved 21 August 2024. * '' Desmoncus chinantlensis'' Liebm. ex Mart. – southern Mexico and Central America (Veracruz to Nicaragua) * '' Desmoncus cirrhifer'' A.H.Gentry & Zardini – Panama, Colombia, Ecuador * '' Desmoncus costaricensis'' (Kuntze) Burret – Costa Rica * '' Desmoncus giganteus'' A.J.Hend. – Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, western Brazil * '' Desmoncus horridus'' Splitg. ex Mart. – Trinidad, Venezuela, the Guianas, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil * '' Desmoncus interjectus'' A.J.Hend. – Colombia * '' Desmoncus kunarius'' de Nevers ex A.J.Hend. – Panama * '' Desmoncus latisectus'' Burret – Bolivia * '' Desmoncus leptoclonos'' Drude – Paraguay, Brazil * '' Desmoncus loretanus'' A.J.Hend. – Loreto region of Peru * '' Desmoncus madrensis'' A.J.Hend. – Peru * ''

Desmoncus mitis ''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 Windward ...

'' Mart. – Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia * '' Desmoncus moorei'' A.J.Hend. – Nicaragua, Costa Rica * '' Desmoncus myriacanthos'' Dugand. – Panama, Colombia, Venezuela * '' Desmoncus obovoideus'' A.J.Hend. – Panama * ''

Desmoncus orthacanthos ''Desmoncus orthacanthos'' is a spiny, climbing palm native to tropical South America. Stems grow clustered together, and are 2–12 m long and 1.5–2 cm in diameter. Stems, leaf sheaths and often leaves are covered with black spines up ...

'' Mart. – eastern Brazil * '' Desmoncus osensis'' A.J.Hend. – Costa Rica * '' Desmoncus parvulus'' L.H.Bailey – Venezuela, Colombia, northwestern Brazil, the Guianas * '' Desmoncus polyacanthos'' Mart. – Trinidad, Windward Islands, Venezuela, the Guianas, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil * '' Desmoncus prunifer'' Poepp. ex Mart. – Loreto region of Peru * ''

Desmoncus pumilus ''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 Windward ...

'' Trail. – Colombia, northwestern Brazil * ''

Desmoncus setosus ''Desmoncus'' is a genus of mostly climbing, spine (botany), spiny Arecaceae, 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 (T ...

'' Mart. – Colombia, northwestern Brazil * '' Desmoncus stans'' Grayum & Nevers – Costa Rica * '' Desmoncus vacivus'' L.H.Bailey – Colombia, northwestern Brazil, Peru

References

: ''The Book of Palms/Das Buch der Palmen/Le livre des palmiers'', introduced by the editor H. Walter Lack,

Taschen Taschen is a luxury art book publisher founded in 1980 by Benedikt Taschen in Cologne, Germany. As of January 2017, Taschen is co-managed by Benedikt Taschen and his eldest daughter, Marlene Taschen. History The company began as Tasch ...

Verlag, Köln, Germany 2010 {{Taxonbar, from=Q2711628 Arecaceae genera Trees of the Caribbean Trees of Central America Trees of South America Trees of Northern America Flora of the Neotropical realm Taxa described in 1824 Taxa named by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius