Aiphanes simplex Burret
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Authority
Borchsenius, Finn & Bernal-González, Rodrigo. 1996. Aiphanes (Palmae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 70: 1-94. (Published by NYBG Press)
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Family
Arecaceae
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Scientific Name
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Type
Type. COLOMBIA. Antioquia: Río Verde, 1500-1700 m, 28 Jul 1880, Kalbreyer 1864 (holotype, B, a single staminate flower).
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Description
Species Description - Caespitose, with up to 20 stems, these 2-4 m tall, 1-2 cm diam., with scattered black spines, to 4 cm long. Leaves 4-9, erect and arching; sheath 11-29 cm long, covered with yellow spines, to 4 cm long; petiole 7-26 cm, with a thin, brown, scaly indument, unarmed or with yellow spines, to 6 cm long; rachis 26-67 cm long, with an indument like that on petiole, unarmed or with scattered, yellow spines and spin-ules; pinnae 9-16 per side, inserted in groups of (l-)2-4 separated by up to 12 cm, in different planes, cuneate to broadly cuneate, 1.2-4.5 times as long as wide, truncate or briefly incised praemorse at apex, with an up to 7 cm finger-like projection on the distal margin, glabrous on both sides or with few, minute spinules abaxially, margins lined with small spinules; basal pinnae 5.5-13 x 0.7-4 cm; middle pinnae 8.5-27 x 3-9 cm; apical pinnae 2-4 ribbed, 8.5-19.5 x 3.5-11 cm. Inflorescence spicate or rarely branched to 1 order, with up to 12 rachillae; prophyll 9-34 x 1 cm; peduncular bract up to 95 cm long, ca. 1 cm wide, thin, with a white or brown indument, unarmed or with few yellow spines; peduncle 21-77 cm long; 2-3 mm diam. at apex, with a brown-violet indument, unarmed or sparsely armed with yellow, to 15 mm long spines; spike 10-32 cm long, 3-4 mm diam., covered with short, yellow to violet spinules; branched inflorescences with a 1.5-15 cm long rachis, bearing 4-12 rachillae, 7-28 cm long, 1-1.5 mm diam., with spinules like the spike; rachillae or spike with triads for ½-2/3 of the length, distally staminate; triads sunken into pits in the rachillae, each subtended by a bract covering the pistillate flower before anthesis. Staminate flowers brownish purple outside, becoming nearly white at anthesis, white inside, with yellow anthers, 2-2.7 mm long; sepals narrowly triangular to ovate, carinate, 1-1.5 x 1.5-2 mm; petals ovate, acuminate, 2.1-2.5 x 1.2-2 mm; filaments 0.6-1 mm long, anthers oval, 0.4-0.7 x 0.3-0.8 mm; pistillode trifid, distinct, ca. 0.5 mm high. Pistillate flowers 4-5 mm long; sepals broadly ovate, 2-2.5 x 3-4 mm, ½ as long as petals, enclosed in the pit; petals 4-5 x ca. 3 mm, connate for ½ their length, valvate distally, lobes recurved at anthesis; staminodial cup 3-4 mm high, truncate, with 6 minute teeth; pistil ca. 4 x 2.5 mm, glabrous. Fruits bright red, globose, strongly rostrate, 8-10 mm diam.; endocarp ca. 8 mm diam. pitted-grooved.
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Discussion
Aiphanes simplex is characterized by its caespitose habit, with up to 20, to 4 m tall, 1-2 cm thick stems, cuneate, truncate praemorse pinnae, yellow spines on leaf sheaths, and normally spicate inflorescence. Individuals with branched inflorescences with up to 12 rachillae have been found in marginal areas of the species distributional range, i.e., the upper Río Patia valley (Idrobo 198) and the western slopes of Cordillera Occidental in the department of Valle (Bernal 1538), indicating a possible transition to the closely related A. erinacea. The arguments for keeping the two as separate species are the following: 1) Aiphanes simplex is sufficiently well known for it to be said that in the Río Cauca basin itself inflorescences are always spicate, and likewise A. erinacea is sufficiently known in Ecuador and southern Colombia for it to be said that spicate inflorescences do not occur there; and 2) individuals of A. simplex with branched inflorescences can still easily be referred to this species by their thin stems and truncate praemorse, rather than incised praemorse, pinnae. Apart from a single atypical collection from the Pacific coast near Buenaventura, there are no collections of A. erinacea further north than the department of Nariño, but this may be due to the poor exploration of the montane forests in the department of Cauca. Thus it is possible that the distributions of A. erinacea and A. simplex form a continuum and that the branched inflorescences sometimes encountered in A. simplex signify that some exchange of genetic material occurs between the two.
Distribution and Ecology: Grows throughout the Río Cauca basin in Colombia extending into the upper Río Patia basin. It passes the Cordillera Occidental only in two places: in the north near Frontino (Rio Verde, type locality) and near Cali where the passes are relatively low. Aiphanes simplex is commonly encountered in patches of primary or secondary forest, sometimes growing near small streams, at 800-2200 m, most abundant between 1600 m and 2100 m, where it may be a dominant component of the shrub layer.
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Distribution
Colombia South America| Antioquia Colombia South America| Cauca Colombia South America| Quindío Colombia South America| Risaralda Colombia South America| Valle Colombia South America|