Coccothrinax ekmanii Burret (1929: 11)

Henderson, Andrew, 2023, A revision of Coccothrinax, Hemithrinax, Leucothrinax, Thrinax, and Zombia (Arecaceae), Phytotaxa 614 (1), pp. 1-115 : 46

1.12. Coccothrinax ekmanii Burret (1929: 11) .

Haitiella ekmanii (Burret) Bailey (1947a: 7)

Lectotype (designated here):— HAITI. Massif de la Selle, Gros Morne des Commissaries , Anses-a-Pitre, 18 September 1926, E. Ekman 6991 (lectotype S n.v., S image!, isolectotypes EHH n.v., EHH image!, K!, US!, the holotype at B was destroyed). Plate 11 .

Stems 6.5(3.0–12.0) m long and 3.9(3.0–5.0) cm diameter, solitary. Leaves more or less deciduous or only leaf bases persisting on stem; leaf sheath fibers 2.0(1.2–3.1) mm diameter, stout, woody, loosely woven, the inner and outer layer combining at the apices to form erect , spine-like fibers; petioles 7.1(5.2–9.2) mm diameter just below the apex; palmans 3.7(1.3–5.8) cm long, relatively short, with the adaxial veins prominent and terminating in a slight raised ridge and distinct pulvinus; leaf blades wedge-shaped; segments 25(21–28) per leaf, the middle ones 33.0(28.0–41.5) cm long and 2.0(1.2–2.8) cm wide; segments not pendulous at the apices, giving the leaf a flat appearance; middle leaf segments tapering from base to apex, often folded, stiff and leathery, with or without scarcely developed shoulders, the apices sharply pointed and briefly splitting; middle leaf segment apices attenuate; leaf segments not waxy or sometimes with a deciduous, thin layer of wax adaxially, without indumentum, scales, or wax abaxially, without or with poorly developed transverse veinlets. Inflorescences curving, arching, or pendulous amongst the leaves, with few partial inflorescences; rachis bracts narrow, closely sheathing, sparsely tomentose, usually without hairs at the apex; partial inflorescences 3(2–4); proximalmost rachillae straight, 4.6(3.1–6.0) cm long and 0.9(0.6–1.3) mm diameter in fruit; rachillae uneven at or near anthesis with lines of warty outgrowths, these often becoming more pronounced as fruits develop; stamens 7–8; fruit pedicels 0.1(0.1–0.3) mm long; fruits 4.9(4.2–5.9) mm long and 5.3(4.4–6.3) mm diameter, brown or rusty brown; fruit surfaces densely muricate; seed surfaces lobed, the lobes running from base of seeds approximately to equator.

Distribution and habitat:— Southeastern Haiti (Sud-Est) and southwestern Dominican Republic (Barahona, Pedernales) ( Fig. 11 ) in dry, open areas on dog’s tooth limestone at 76(15–222) m elevation.

Taxonomic notes:— As a preliminary species, Coccothrinax ekmanii has a unique combination of qualitative character states and is recognized as a phylogenetic species. It is a member of a group of nine Hispaniolan species (see notes under C. boschiana ). It differs from all species in this group by its leaf sheaths with erect, spine-like fibers. Tomlinson et al. (2011) considered C. ekmanii to be notable anatomically because of its small vascular bundles attached to the abaxial leaf surface.

Subspecific variation:— Coccothrinax ekmanii appears to show the same kind of variation in stems and leaves as seen in C. boschiana and C. samanensis . The label of a specimen (Loomis 15) from Beata Island in Haiti, an area completely exposed to prevailing winds, described the stems as being “twisted into grotesque shapes” and one stem reported to be 8.2 m long and only 1.4 cm diameter just below the leaves. The label described the leaves on younger, more sheltered plants as being orbicular but becoming wedge-shaped on older, more exposed plants. On the other hand, stems from more sheltered sites in the Dominican Republic, illustrated in Fernández & Gottschalk (2017, pages 122–123), show thicker, shorter, erect, straight stems covered with persistent leaf bases.

Figures

PLATE 11. Coccothrinax ekmanii, Dominican Republic, with wedge-shaped leaf blades. (Image by Eladio Fernández).

FIGURE 11. Distribution of Coccothrinax clarensis, C. concolor, C. crinita, and C. ekmanii.