Allagoptera arenaria
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Allagoptera arenaria palm in the landscape. (MBC photo: 87805E-GD02). Photograph courtesy of Montgomery Botanical Center http://www.montgomerybotanical.org |
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Allagoptera arenaria leaflets growing in multiple planes. |
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Allagoptera arenaria abaxial leaflet surface with white scales and brown ramenta. (Scale in mm) |
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Allagoptera arenaria inflorescense spike. Photograph courtesy of Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, Guide to Palms http://palmguide.org/index.php |
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Allagoptera arenaria with inflorescence. Posted on wikimedia commons under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 license. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Allagoptera_arenaria.jpg |
Common name
seashore palm, coco da praia
Description
Stems: Solitary, subterranean (rarely growing above ground, vertically or horizontally). The palm may appear to have multiple stems when several seeds germinate in close proximity to form a cluster. Leaves: Pinnatepinnate:
like a feather; palms with pinnate leaves usually have compound leaflets attached to a rachis, although a pinnate leaf may be entire with pinnate veins (e.g., <em>Chamaedorea metallica</em>)
, 1-1.5 m long, with linearlinear:
term to describe leaves and leaflets that are narrow with nearly parallel margins; like a line
leaflets spreading in multiple planes, grouped in clusters of 2's or 3's. Upper leafleaf:
in palms -- the leaf blade (which is usually divided into leaflets or leaf segments), the petiole (or leaf stalk) and the sheath (which forms the attachment of the leaf to the stem)
surface, green or waxy gray; undersurface, whitish or silvery. Flowers and fruits: A short, dense spike protected by a woody spathe and not branched. Triads with a central female flower bordered by two male flowers occur at the base of the spike while toward the tip, only male flowers appear. The irregularly spherical to turbinateturbinate:
shaped like a coil; increasing in diameter from the tip to the base
fruits (1.5-2.5 cm) are densely clustered and yellow green when ripe, sometimes with brown tomentumtomentum:
a covering of closely matted or fine hairs on plant leaves
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Diagnostic features
Field: Short or subterranean stemmed palm with irregularly arranged pinnatepinnate:
like a feather; palms with pinnate leaves usually have compound leaflets attached to a rachis, although a pinnate leaf may be entire with pinnate veins (e.g., <em>Chamaedorea metallica</em>)
leaflets; green above and silvery white below, without spines. Inflorescenceinflorescence:
the reproductive structure of a flowering plant, including palms, consisting of flowers and associated bracts
, a spike with a woody spathe.
May be confused with
Acrocomia aculeata (as a juvenile before the stem grows aerially, perhaps), but that palm has leafleaf:
in palms -- the leaf blade (which is usually divided into leaflets or leaf segments), the petiole (or leaf stalk) and the sheath (which forms the attachment of the leaf to the stem)
spines while Allagoptera arenaria is not armed.
Distribution
Native to coastal Brazil, behind dunes
Additional comments
This is a palm of the seashore, dunes, and dry, open maritime forests; it is tolerant of salt spray and can be seen as a cultivated palm in coastal areas.
Scientific name
Allagoptera arenaria (Gomes) Kuntze
Family
Arecaceae/Palmae
Synonyms
Allagoptera pumila Nees
Cocos arenaria Gomes
Diplothemium arenarium (Gomes) Carv.Vasc. & Franco
Diplothemium littorale Martius
Diplothemium maritimum Martius
