Prestoea pubens H.E.Moore
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Authority
Henderson, A. & Galeano, Gloria A. 1996.
, , and (Palmae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 72: 1-90. (Published by NYBG Press) -
Family
Arecaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Stems cespitose with 3-6 stems, rarely solitary, sometimes procumbent and partly subterranean, 1.4-3.5 m tall, 2-5 cm diam., brown or green, with nodulated roots visible at base. Leaves 4-10, arching; sheath open and not forming a crownshaft, 17-27 (-774) cm long, persistent, with brown scales, fibrous on margins, the ligule short or absent; petiole 0.3-1 m long, densely covered with closely appressed, brown hairs, glabrescent; rachis 0.5-1.8 m long, with hairs like those of petiole, glabrescent; pinnae 8-20 per side, regularly arranged and spreading in one plane, subopposite, elliptic or subsigmoid, contracted proximally and distally, distally abruptly and asymmetrically long apiculate, the filiform apex to 10 cm long, the apical pinna irregularly bifid, ± glabrous abaxially, with prominent midvein and several, obscure lateral veins, with thin and inconspicuous ramenta on midvein abaxially; basal pinna 18-32 x 1.8-4 cm; middle pinnae 19-54 x 2.5-8 cm; apical pinna 19-24 x 1.8-4 cm. Inflorescences corymbose, interfoliar, arching, spicate or branched; peduncle 6-50 cm long, 2-7 mm diam., terete, with scattered brown scales or pubescent with soft pale hairs, glabrescent; prophyll (1.2-)4.5-22 cm long, 1.1-2.5 cm diam., glabrous or with scales or hairs; peduncular bract (9-)29-90 cm long, including a 1 cm long umbo, 1-2 cm diam. at middle, covered with appressed, light-brown scales, persistent; rachis 2.5-15 cm long (absent if inflorescence spicate), with stellate, white hairs; rachillae 1-11, 8-32 (-47) cm long, all ± equal in length, ca. 2 mm diam. at anthesis, thickening to ca. 3 mm diam. in fruit, glabrous or with simple to furcate, substellate or stellate, 0.1 mm long, white hairs; flowers in triads almost to apex of rachillae, white at anthesis, the triads very close together, ± sunken in the rachillae; triad bracteole rounded; first flower bracteole obscure, second and third flower bracteoles ± equal, apiculate, 0.3 mm long; staminate flowers 2-4 mm long, sessile or on short flattened pedicels; sepals deltate, 1-1.5 mm long, gibbous, ciliate; petals triangular, 2-4 mm long, glabrous or with tuft of white hairs at apex; stamens arranged on a short receptacle; filaments 1-3 mm long, flattened, adnate proximally to petals; anthers 0.8-2 mm long, oblong; pistillode 1-2 mm long, deeply trifid at apex; pistillate flowers 2.5-3 mm long; sepals very widely ovate, 2 mm long, fleshy, minutely ciliate, glabrous or with white hairs abaxially; petals very widely ovate, 2 mm long, not fleshy; staminodes digitate; fruits globose, 0.8-1 cm diam., stigmatic remains lateral; epicarp black, glabrous or minutely tuberculate; seeds globose, 6-7 mm diam.; endosperm lightly (then almost homogeneous) to deeply ruminate; eophyll not seen.
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Discussion
This species is unique in the genus in having elliptic or subsigmoid pinnae. The endosperm also varies from almost homogeneous to deeply ruminate. It is closely related to both P. decurrens and P. schultzeana; all three share the same inflorescence shape, rachillae hair type, and pilose flowers. Two allopatric varieties are here recognized, even though there is overlap in some of the character states. It is interesting to note that this is the third species of Prestoea with dimorphic inflorescences, together with P. ensiformis and P. decurrens.