''Syagrus'' 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 ...

Arecaceae The Arecaceae () is a family (biology), family of perennial plant, perennial, flowering plants in the Monocotyledon, monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbing palm, climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly k ...

(palms), native to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, with one species

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

to the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea, forming part of the West Indies in Caribbean, Caribbean region of the Americas. They are distinguished from the larger islands of the Greater Antilles to the west. They form an arc w ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> The genus is closely related to the '' Cocos'', or coconut genus, and many ''Syagrus'' species produce edible seeds similar to the coconut.

Description

Palms in this genus usually have solitary stems; clustered stems are less common, and a few are

stolon In biology, a stolon ( from Latin ''wikt:stolo, stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as a runner, is a horizontal connection between parts of an organism. It may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton. Typically, animal ...

-like subterranean. The stems are normally spineless, but some species have spiny leaf sheaths or spines. Those species that have upright trunks grow tall with stems that are in diameter. The leaves of all but one species, '' S. smithii'', are pinnately compound. Leaf sheaths are split along their entire length, and consequently, crownshafts are not present in this genus. The transition from the leaf sheath to the

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

can be gradual and difficult to identify, but in species where they can be distinguished, leaf sheaths are long and the petioles are . The

inflorescences In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a main axis ( pe ...

are unbranched or branch once; a single hybrid, ''S''. × ''lacerdamourae'', occasionally shows second-order branching, and emerge from between the leaves. They are

monoecious Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system comparable with gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy, and contras ...

, with both male and female flowers borne in the same inflorescence. The fruit are drupes, which vary in colour from green to orange to brown. They range in size from in length, and in diameter.

Taxonomy

''Syagrus'' has been placed 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

Attaleinae Attaleinae is a subtribe of plants in the family Arecaceae. Genera in the subtribe, the majority of which are found in South America, are: *'' Beccariophoenix'' – Madagascar *'' Jubaeopsis'' – South Africa; monotypic genus *''Voanioala'' – ...

, together with the genera ''

Allagoptera ''Allagoptera'' is a monoecious genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in South America consisting of 5 accepted species. Compared to other genera within the Cocoseae ''Allagoptera'' is described as particularly specialized.Uhl, Natal ...

'', '' Attalea'', ''

Beccariophoenix ''Beccariophoenix'' is a genus of three species of Arecaceae (palms), native to Madagascar. The genus is closely related to the '' Cocos'', or coconut genus, and notably ''Beccariophoenix alfredii'' is similar in appearance to the coconut palm. I ...

'', ''

Butia ''Butia'' is a genus of palms in the family Arecaceae, native to the South American countries of Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. Many species produce edible fruits, which are sometimes used to make alcoholic beverages and other foods. ...

'', '' Cocos'', ''

Jubaea ''Jubaea'' is a genus of palms with one species, ''Jubaea chilensis'', commonly known in English as the Chilean wine palm or Chile cocopalm, and palma chilena in Spanish. It is native to southwestern South America and is endemic to a small area ...

'', ''

Jubaeopsis ''Jubaeopsis afra'', the Pondoland palm, is a flowering plant species in the palm family (Arecaceae). It belongs to the monotypic genus ''Jubaeopsis''. It is endemic to South Africa, where it is threatened due to habitat loss. This tree is a li ...

'', ''

Parajubaea ''Parajubaea'' is a genus of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. Species in this genus are native to the northern Andes mountains in northwestern South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mo ...

'', and ''

Voanioala ''Voanioala gerardii'', commonly known as the forest coconut, is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is a relative of the coconut, and is generally regarded as monotypic within the genus ''Voanioala''. However, a team of gen ...

''. The genus ''Lytocaryum'' is now included in ''Syagrus''. It has been treated as a distinct genus, differentiated only by abundant

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