Eremospatha
Encyclopedia
Eremospatha is a climbing genus
of flowering plant
in the palm
family found in tropical Africa
. These rattan
s are uncommon in cultivation and poorly understood by taxonomists; some 12 species
have been described, of which three are commonly recognized. Closely related to Laccosperma
, they are unique in the Calameae tribe by the near complete absence of bracts and bracteoles. The name is from Greek
meaning "without a spathe".
leaves range from 30 cm to 2.5 m on short, armed petioles; the rachis, leaf margins and cirri are also armed with spines. They are hermaphroditic, with both male and female reproductive organs present in each flower
. The pale blooms are fragrant and produce a red to brown, scaly fruit
, each containing one to three seed
s.
, to Tanzania
where they grow in swamps and alongside rivers.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
in the palm
Arecaceae
Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...
family found in tropical Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. These rattan
Rattan
Rattan is the name for the roughly 600 species of palms in the tribe Calameae, native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Australasia.- Structure :...
s are uncommon in cultivation and poorly understood by taxonomists; some 12 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
have been described, of which three are commonly recognized. Closely related to Laccosperma
Laccosperma
Laccosperma is a clustering genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in tropical Africa. Poorly studied and rarely cultivated, they are closely related to the Eremospatha genus and with it form a tribe in the Calameae characterized by dyads of hermaphrodite flowers...
, they are unique in the Calameae tribe by the near complete absence of bracts and bracteoles. The name is from Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
meaning "without a spathe".
Description
The slender, high-climbing trunks are naturally clustering and can reach up to 45 m in length. The pinnatePinnate
Pinnate is a term used to describe feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis in plant or animal structures, and comes from the Latin word pinna meaning "feather", "wing", or "fin". A similar term is pectinate, which refers to a comb-like arrangement of parts...
leaves range from 30 cm to 2.5 m on short, armed petioles; the rachis, leaf margins and cirri are also armed with spines. They are hermaphroditic, with both male and female reproductive organs present in each flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
. The pale blooms are fragrant and produce a red to brown, scaly fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
, each containing one to three seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s.
Distribution and habitat
These palms are native to the rain forest of west Africa, the Congo BasinCongo Basin
The Congo Basin is the sedimentary basin that is the drainage of the Congo River of west equatorial Africa. The basin begins in the highlands of the East African Rift system with input from the Chambeshi River, the Uele and Ubangi Rivers in the upper reaches and the Lualaba River draining wetlands...
, to Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
where they grow in swamps and alongside rivers.