Coccothrinax orientalis (León)

Henderson, Andrew, 2023, A revision of Coccothrinax, Hemithrinax, Leucothrinax, Thrinax, and Zombia (Arecaceae), Phytotaxa 614 (1), pp. 1-115 : 69

1.27. Coccothrinax orientalis (León) Muñiz & Borhidi (1981 publ. 1982: 451).

Coccothrinax yuraguana var. orientalis León (1939: 121) .

Coccothrinax yuraguana subsp. orientalis (León) Borhidi in Borhidi & Muñiz (1971b publ. 1972: 2).

Lectotype (designated by Moya 2020):— CUBA. Oriente, Sierra de Nipe, cerca de Woodfred, 500-650 m, 18 December 1909, J. Shafer 3217 (lectotype NY!, isolectotype US!)

Coccothrinax moaensis (Borhidi & Muñiz) Muñiz in Muñiz & Borhidi (1981 publ. 1982: 451). Coccothrinax yuraguana subsp. moaensis Borhidi & Muñiz (1971b publ. 1972: 1). Type:— CUBA. Oriente, Guantánamo, El Pino sur de la Reserva Cupeyal del Norte, 11 February 1970, A. Borhidi & O. Muñiz 27934 (holotype HAC!, isotype BP n.v., BP image!).

Stems length not recorded, 9.0(2.9–15.0) cm diameter, solitary. Leaves more or less deciduous or only leaf bases persisting on stem; leaf sheath fibers 1.2(0.6–1.8) mm diameter, stout, woody, loosely woven, ± joined or briefly free at the apices; petioles 7.9(5.5–11.8) mm diameter just below the apex; palmans 4.6(3.0–7.3) cm long, relatively short, with the adaxial veins prominent and terminating in a slight raised ridge and distinct pulvinus; leaf blades not wedge-shaped; segments 24(16–38) per leaf, the middle ones 33.8(24.4–42.0) cm long and 3.3(2.4–4.6) cm wide; segments not pendulous at the apices, giving the leaf a flat appearance; middle leaf segments relatively short and broad, abruptly narrowed (shoulder) toward the apex, otherwise parallel-sided, often strongly folded, stiff and leathery, the apices briefly splitting; middle leaf segment apices blunt and rounded; leaf segments not waxy or sometimes with a deciduous, thin layer of wax adaxially; leaf segments densely indumentose abaxially, with irregularly shaped, persistent, interlocking, fimbriate hairs, each one with a rounded, raised, light green to greenish-brown or reddish-brown center, sometimes without indumentum abaxially, without transverse veinlets. Inflorescences curving, arching, or pendulous amongst the leaves, with few to numerous partial inflorescences; rachis bracts somewhat flattened, loosely sheathing, usually tomentose with a dense tuft of erect hairs at the apex; partial inflorescences number not recorded; proximalmost rachillae straight, 6.3(4.5–9.5) cm long and 1.2(0.8–1.6) mm diameter in fruit; rachillae glabrous at or near anthesis; stamens 8; fruit pedicels 1.9(1.1–2.6) mm long; fruits 7.0(6.2–7.7) mm long and 7.3(6.6–8.3) mm diameter, purple or purplish; fruit surfaces smooth or sometimes with projecting fibers; seed surfaces deeply lobed, the lobes running from base of seeds almost to apices.

Distribution and habitat:— Cuba (Holguín, Guantánamo) ( Fig. 15 ) in pine forest on serpentine soils at 701(500– 944) m elevation.

Taxonomic notes:— Two preliminary species ( C. moaensis , C. orientalis ) have a unique combination of qualitative character states except that C. orientalis is polymorphic for abaxial segment indument. However, splitting the specimens into two species such that variables were consistent within each one led to improbable species that could not be justified morphologically or geographically. Therefore, specimens are recognized as a phylogenetic species, with one variable polymorphic. The earliest name for this species is C. orientalis .

Craft (2017) noted that Coccothrinax orientalis could hybridize with C. pauciramosa , and this may be the origin of the polymorphism in abaxial segment indument.

There are two separate populations of Coccothrinax orientalis . There are no differences between them, but only enough data to test five variables.

Figures

FIGURE 15. Distribution of Coccothrinax montgomeryana, C. munizii, C. orientalis, and C. pauciramosa.