Coccothrinax hioramii León (1939: 135)

Henderson, Andrew, 2023, A revision of Coccothrinax, Hemithrinax, Leucothrinax, Thrinax, and Zombia (Arecaceae), Phytotaxa 614 (1), pp. 1-115 : 54-56

1.19. Coccothrinax hioramii León (1939: 135) .

Lectotype (designated by Moya 2020):— CUBA. Oriente, Caimanera , Guantánamo, 31 March 1934, Fr. Hioram 16099 (lectotype HAC!, isolectotypes A!, AJBC n.v., BH!, MICH n.v., MICH image!, US!). Plate 14

Coccothrinax argentea var. guantanamensis León (1939: 134) . Coccothrinax argentea subsp. guantanamensis (León) Borhidi & Muñiz (1971a: 176). Coccothrinax guantanamensis (León) Muñiz & Borhidi (1981 publ. 1982: 449). Lectotype (designated by Moya 2020):— CUBA. Oriente, no lejos de la boca del río Guantánamo, 31 March 1934, Fr. Hioram 16100 (lectotype HAC!, isolectotypes A!, AJBC n.v., GH!, BH!, NY!, MICH n.v., US!).

Stems length not recorded, 11.2 cm diameter, solitary. Leaves more or less deciduous or only leaf bases persisting on stem; leaf sheath fibers 0.4(0.2–0.6) mm diameter, closely woven, not forming persistent ligules and soon disintegrating at the apices; petioles 12.0(7.8–17.5) mm diameter just below the apex; palmans 13.6(8.0–17.0) cm long, relatively long, without prominent adaxial veins; leaf blades not wedge-shaped; segments 45(39–50) per leaf, the middle ones 60.9(49.5–75.5) cm long and 2.4(2.0–2.9) cm wide; segments not pendulous at the apices, giving the leaf a flat appearance; middle leaf segments relatively long and narrow, tapering from base to apex, scarcely folded, flexible and not leathery, a shoulder or constriction absent or poorly developed, the apices thin, deeply splitting and breaking off; middle leaf segment apices attenuate; leaf segments not waxy or sometimes with a deciduous, thin layer of wax adaxially, indumentose abaxially, with irregularly shaped, semi-persistent, interlocking, fimbriate hairs without an obvious center, with poorly developed transverse veinlets. Inflorescences curving, arching, or pendulous amongst the leaves, with few partial inflorescences; rachis bracts somewhat flattened, loosely sheathing, usually tomentose with a dense tuft of erect hairs at the apex; partial inflorescences 5(4–6); proximalmost rachillae straight, 9.6(7.2–11.0) cm long and 1.3(0.7–1.9) mm diameter in fruit; rachillae glabrous at or near anthesis; stamens 10(9–11); fruit pedicels 1.5(0.7–2.4) mm long; fruits 7.0(5.7–8.7) mm long and 7.3(6.4–9.3) mm diameter, dark purple, reddish-purple, or black; 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 (Guantánamo) ( Fig. 13 ) in savannas and hills at 65(30–100) m elevation.

Taxonomic notes:— Two preliminary species ( C. guantanamensis , C. hioramii ) share a unique combination of character states and are recognized as a phylogenetic species, the earliest name for which is C. hioramii . León (1939) distinguished C. hioramii from C. guantanamensis by its leaf segments striate abaxially only (versus striate on both surfaces), globose ovaries (versus ovoid-globose), and seeds split to one third their diameter (versus split to three quarters of their diameter). These differences are difficult to observe and are not considered to have any taxonomic significance. Specimens appear to have obscure transverse veinlets, as noted by León, indicating a relationship with C. argentea from Hispaniola (and León first described C. guantanamensis as a variety of C. argentea ).

Subspecific variation:—A specimen (León 16768) from the Loma de la Canasta in Guantánamo was determined by León as C. hioramii , but has larger leaves and inflorescences than other specimens and is outside their range. The label of one specimen (Zona 849) states “stems slightly ventricose or fusiform”. The label of another specimen (Loomis 96) states “the trunks of some are thicker for 10–12 ft. at the base and then narrow rather suddenly thus forming a slender bottle-like trunk which may be 6 inches diameter at the thickest part and 2 to 2½ inches above at the thinnest part. Only young palms retain the old leaf bases”.

Figures

FIGURE 13. Distribution of Coccothrinax gracilis, C. gundlachii, C. hioramii, and C. jimenezii

PLATE 14. Coccothrinax hioramii, Cuba, with middle leaf segments long and narrow, tapering from base to apex, scarcely folded, flexible and not leathery, a shoulder or constriction absent or poorly developed. (Image by Scott Zona).