''Kerriodoxa elegans'', the white backed palm, is the only species of
palm tree
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 trees ...
in the genus ''Kerriodoxa'', in the family
Arecaceae
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 trees ...
.
It is an
endemic species
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
of
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
, first discovered in the Khao Phra Thaew reserve on 11 March 1929 and described as a new genus and species in 1983. It is
dioecious
Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...
, with separate male and female plants.
The genus name of ''Kerriodoxa'' is in honour of
Arthur Francis George Kerr (1877–1942), an Irish medical doctor.
References
Coryphoideae
Monotypic Arecaceae genera
Endemic flora of Thailand
Dioecious plants
{{Arecaceae-stub