Chelyocarpus is a genus of small to medium-sized fan palms which are native to northwestern South America. Some are upright trees, while others creep along the ground. Species are used for thatch, to weave hats, stuff pillows and as a source of salt.
Description
Chelyocarpus is a type of small to medium-sized, single or multi-stemmed palms with fan shaped leaves. Stems range from short and creeping along the ground to as much as 15 metres (49 feet) tall. Stem diameters range from 4 to 12 centimetres (1.6 to 4.7 inches). Individuals have between 10 and 20 leaves with circular blades, the lower surface of which is usually whitish in colour. The flowers are small and bisexual—they have both male and female sex organs in the same flower. The fruit have one or two seeds and ripen to a greenish yellow or brown.
Three species of Chelyocarpus are native to the western Amazon, while the fourth is from western Colombia. Chelyocarpus chuco is found in Brazil and Bolivia, C.ulei in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil, C.repens near Iquitos, Peru, and C.dianeurus is found in the Pacific lowlands of Colombia.[3]
Uses
The leaves of Chelyocarpus chuco are used for thatch and to weave hats. The woolly covering of the leaf sheaths of C.dianeurus are used to stuff pillows, and salt is extracted from the trunks of C.ulei.[3]
References
12"Chelyocarpus". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
↑Cano, Ángela; Bacon, Christine D.; Stauffer, Fred W.; Antonelli, Alexandre; Serrano-Serrano, Martha L.; Perret, Mathieu (2018). "The roles of dispersal and mass extinction in shaping palm diversity across the Caribbean". Journal of Biogeography. 45 (6): 1432–1443. Bibcode:2018JBiog..45.1432C. doi:10.1111/jbi.13225. ISSN1365-2699.
↑Uhl, Natalie E.; John Dransfield (1987). Genera Palmarum: a classification of palms based on the work of Harold E. Moore Jr. Lawrence, Kansas: The L. H. Bailey Hortorium and the International Palm Society.
↑Dransfield, John; Natalie W. Uhl; Conny B. Asmussen; William J. Baker; Madeline M. Harley; Carl E. Lewis (2005). "A New Phylogenetic Classification of the Palm Family, Arecaceae". Kew Bulletin. 60 (4): 559–69. JSTOR25070242.
↑Roncal, Julissa; Scott Zona; Carl E. Lewis (2008). "Molecular Phylogenetic Studies of Caribbean Palms (Arecaceae) and Their Relationships to Biogeography and Conservation". Botanical Review. 74 (1): 78–102. Bibcode:2008BotRv..74...78R. doi:10.1007/s12229-008-9005-9.
