Login
Login

Syagrus (plant)

{{Short description|Genus of palms}}

{{Other uses|Syagrus (disambiguation){{!}}Syagrus}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Queenfruit.JPG

| image_caption = Syagrus romanzoffiana

| display_parents = 3

| taxon = Syagrus (plant)

| authority = Mart.Martius, Palmarum Familia 18. 1824. Type S. cocoides

| synonyms_ref =

| synonyms =

{{Genus list

|Arecastrum|(Drude) Becc.

|Arikury|Becc.

|Arikuryroba|Barb.Rodr.

|Barbosa|Becc.

|Chrysallidosperma|H.E.Moore

|Glaziova|Devansaye, nom. illeg.

|Langsdorffia|Raddi

|Lytocaryum|Toledo

|Microcoelum|Burret & Potztal

|Platenia|H.Karst.

|Rhyticocos|Becc.

}}

}}

Syagrus is a genus of Arecaceae (palms), native to South America, with one species endemic to the Lesser Antilles.[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=198777 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families] 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-like subterranean. The stems are normally spineless, but some species have spiny leaf sheaths or spines. Those species that have upright trunks grow {{Convert|2-36|m|ft|0}} tall with stems that are {{convert|6-35|cm}} 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 can be gradual and difficult to identify, but in species where they can be distinguished, leaf sheaths are {{Convert|2.5-180|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} long and the petioles are {{Convert|0-30|cm|in|0|abbr=on}}.

The inflorescences are unbranched or branch once; a single hybrid, S. × lacerdamourae, occasionally shows second-order branching, and emerge from between the leaves. They are monoecious, 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 {{Convert|1.2 to 1.9|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length, and {{Convert|0.7 to 4.5|cm|in|abbr=on}} in diameter.

Taxonomy

{{cladogram

|caption=Simplified phylogeny of members of the subtribe Attaleinae, based on seven WRKY gene loci.{{cite journal|last=Meerow|first=Alan W.|author-link=Alan W. Meerow |author2=Larry Noblick |author3=James W. Borrone |author4=Thomas L. P. Couvreur |author5=Margarita Mauro-Herrera |author6=William J. Hahn |author7=David N. Kuhn |author8=Kyoko Nakamura |author9=Nora H. Oleas |author10=Raymond J. Schnell |year=2009|title=Phylogenetic Analysis of Seven WRKY Genes across the Palm Subtribe Attaleinae (Arecaceae) Identifies Syagrus as Sister Group of the Coconut|journal=PLOS ONE|pmid=19806212|volume=4|issue=10|pmc=2752195|pages=e7353|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0007353|editor1-last=Joly|editor1-first=Simon|bibcode=2009PLoSO...4.7353M|doi-access=free}}

|clades=

{{clade|style=font-size:80%;line-height:75%

|1={{clade

|1=Beccariophoenix

|2={{clade

|1=Voanioala

|2=Jubaeopsis

}}

}}

|2={{clade

|1={{clade

|1=Cocos nucifera

|2={{clade

|1=Syagrus

|2=Lytocaryum (nested within Syagrus)

}}

}}

|2={{clade

|1={{clade

|1={{clade

|1={{clade

|1=Allagoptera

|2=Polyandrococos

}}

|2=Parajubaea

}}

|2={{clade

|1=Butia

|2=Jubaea

}}

}}

|2=Attalea

}}

}}

}}

}}

Syagrus has been placed in the subfamily Arecoideae, the tribe Cocoseae and the subtribe Attaleinae, together with the genera Allagoptera, Attalea, Beccariophoenix, Butia, Cocos, Jubaea, Jubaeopsis, Parajubaea, and Voanioala.{{cite journal| last = Dransfield| first = John|author2=Natalie W. Uhl |author3=Conny B. Asmussen |author4=William J. Baker |author5=Madeline M. Harley |author6=Carl E. Lewis | year = 2005| title = A New Phylogenetic Classification of the Palm Family, Arecaceae| journal = Kew Bulletin| volume = 60| issue = 4| pages = 559–69| jstor = 25070242}}

The genus Lytocaryum is now included in Syagrus.{{Cite journal|last1=Noblick|first1=Larry R.|last2=Meerow|first2=Alan W.|date=2015|title=The Transfer of the Genus Lytocaryum to Syagrus|journal=Palms|volume=59|pages=57–62}} It has been treated as a distinct genus, differentiated only by abundant tomentum, strongly versatile anthers, and slight differences in the pericarp.Uhl, Natalie W. and Dransfield, John (1987) Genera Palmarum - A classification of palms based on the work of Harold E. Moore. Lawrence, Kansas: Allen Press. {{ISBN|0-935868-30-5}} / {{ISBN|978-0-935868-30-2}}

=Species=

{{As of|2024|May}}, Plants of the World Online accepted the following species and hybrids:{{Cite POWO|title=Syagrus Mart..|id=60437282-2|access-date=2024-05-17|mode=cs1}}

{{div col}}

{{div col end}}

==Hybrids==

=Formerly placed here=

  • Butia campicola (Barb.Rodr.) Noblick (as S. campicola (Barb.Rodr.) Becc.)
  • Butia capitata (Mart.) Becc. (as S. capitata (Mart.) Glassman)
  • Butia eriospatha (Mart. ex Drude) Becc. (as S. eriospatha (Mart. ex Drude) Glassman)
  • Butia paraguayensis (Barb.Rodr.) L.H.Bailey (as S. paraguayensis (Barb.Rodr.) Glassman)
  • Butia yatay (Mart.) Becc. (as S. dyerana (Barb. Rodr.) Becc. and S. yatay (Mart.) Glassman)

Distribution

Syagrus is an almost entirely South American genus. The only non-South American species, S. amara, is endemic to five islands in the Lesser Antilles. The genus is found from sea level to elevations of {{Convert|1800|m|ft|-2|abbr=}}above sea level.{{Cite journal|last=Noblick|first=Larry R.|date=2017-02-01|title=A revision of the genus Syagrus (Arecaceae)|journal=Phytotaxa|volume=294|issue=1|pages=1|doi=10.11646/phytotaxa.294.1.1|issn=1179-3163|doi-access=free}}

Ecology

S. coronata nuts are the favored food of Lear's macaw, whose bill size and shape are particularly adapted to crack them.{{Cite journal|last1=Yamashita |first1=Carlos |last2=de Paula Valle |first2=Mauro |year=1993 |title=On the linkage between Anodorhynchus macaws and palm nuts, and the extinction of the Glaucous Macaw |journal=Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club |volume=113 |pages=53–60 |url=http://biostor.org/reference/112167 }}

Syagrus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Batrachedra nuciferae (recorded on S. coronae) and Paysandisia archon (recorded on S. romanzoffiana).

Cultivation and uses

Syagrus weddellianum is a commonly potted plant throughout Europe. It prefers shade and rich, friable, quickly draining soil with some acidity.Riffle, Robert L. and Craft, Paul (2003) An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms. Portland: Timber Press. {{ISBN|0-88192-558-6}} / {{ISBN|978-0-88192-558-6}}

References

{{Reflist}}

  • Jones, D. L. (2000). Palms in Australia. Reed Books.

External links

  • {{Wikispecies-inline}}

{{commons category|position=left}}

{{Arecaceae genera}}

{{Taxonbar|from1=Q136774|from2=Q2245810}}

Category:Arecaceae genera

Category:Garden plants of South America

Category:Flora of the Neotropical realm