Zombia antillarum (Descourtilz) Bailey (1939c: 242)

Henderson, Andrew, 2023, A revision of Coccothrinax, Hemithrinax, Leucothrinax, Thrinax, and Zombia (Arecaceae), Phytotaxa 614 (1), pp. 1-115 : 104-105

5.1. Zombia antillarum (Descourtilz) Bailey (1939c: 242) .

Chamaerops antillarum Descourtilz (1821: 135) .

Lectotype (designated by Henderson 2022):—Plumier, Botanicon Americanum seu historia plantarum Americanis insulis nascentium, volume 7, plate 54

Coccothrinax anomala Beccari (1908: 95) . Oothrinax anomala (Beccari) Cook (1941: 21) .

Lectotype (designated here):— HAITI. No locality, no date, W. Buch s.n. (lectotype FI!, the holotype at B was destroyed).

Zombia antillarum var. gonzalezii Jiménez (1960: 236) . Type :— DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Santiago, near Santiago Rodriguez, no date, J. Jiménez 2590- B (holotype UCMM n.v.) .

Stems 2.4(1.0–3.0) m long and 10.0 cm diameter, clustered. Leaves more or less deciduous or only leaf bases persisting on stem; leaf sheaths not split at the base; leaf sheath fibers 1.4(0.8–2.7) mm diameter, stout, woody, forming a ring of horizontal or reflexed spines at the sheath apex; petioles 6.7(4.3–9.7) mm diameter just below the apex; palmans 19.4(12.5–30.3) cm long and relatively long and without prominent adaxial veins; interfold filaments absent; leaf blades not wedge-shaped; segments 38(26–52), the middle ones 50.7(38.5–68.0) cm long and 2.6(1.6–3.8) cm wide; segments not pendulous at the apices, giving the leaf a flat appearance; middle leaf segments without a constriction distal to the palman, tapering gradually towards the apex, widest at palman apex; middle leaf segment apices attenuate; leaf segments not waxy adaxially, with a thin layer of wax abaxially, with well-developed transverse veinlets. Inflorescences erect amongst the leaves, with numerous partial inflorescences; rachis bracts narrow, closely sheathing, sparsely tomentose, usually without hairs at the apex; partial inflorescences 8(6–13); proximalmost rachillae straight, 4.3(3.0–7.5) cm long and 0.9(0.6–1.2) mm diameter in fruit; rachillae glabrous at or near anthesis; flowers alternately and distichously arranged; stamens 9, elongate, spreading irregularly at anthesis; anthers latrorse; fruit pedicels 0.3(0.2–0.8) mm long; fruits 14.1(11.5–18.2) mm long and 12.6(11.1–16.0) mm diameter, white; fruit surfaces smooth or sometimes with projecting fibers; seed surfaces deeply lobed, the lobes running from base of seeds almost to apices; seeds in longitudinal section not intruded by the hilum.

Distribution and habitat:— Hispaniola ( Dominican Republic, Haiti) ( Fig. 26 ) in scrub on serpentine, rocky soil, and persisting in disturbed areas, at 130(17–380) m elevation. Taylor & Timyan (2004) reported that Zombia antillarum is clearly associated with serpentine soils although it may also occur on calcareous soils.

Taxonomic notes:— Bailey (1939c) gave a detailed account of Zombia in Haiti. The lectotype is an unpublished, colored drawing by Plumier ( Henderson 2022) in the library of the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle in Paris.

Subspecific variation:— Zombia antillarum occurs in several different localities in Hispaniola, often on serpentine soils (Taylor & Timyan 2004). There appears to be considerable variation in fruit size, although there are few specimens with fruits.

In the central part of Haiti’s southern peninsula, Z. antillarum occurs within a triangle formed by Miragoane, Fond des Negres, and Fonds des Blancs, on limestone soils. Fruits in this population are 13.6 mm long and 12.6 mm diameter.

In northern Haiti it occurs in the valley of Trois Rivières between Port-de-Paix and Gros Morne. Fruits in this population are 14.1 mm long and 12.3 mm diameter.

On the north coast of the Dominican Republic it occurs in two populations, near Gaspar Hernández and near Puerto Plata, both on serpentine soils. Fruits from the Puerto Plata population are 18.2 mm long and 16.0 mm diameter.

There appears to be a single population on the northern slopes of the Cordillera Central in the Dominican Republic, occurring on serpentine soils. Fruits of this population are 13.7 mm long and 12.8 mm diameter. The type of Z. antillarum var. gonzalezii is from here, and fruits were described as pyriform and 15–16 mm long and 10–11 mm diameter.

There appear to be two populations in south-central Dominican Republic. The southernmost of these, at San Cristobal just west of Santo Domingo, occurs on limestone soils and has fruits 12.5 mm long and 11.7 mm diameter.

Figures

FIGURE 26. Distribution of Zombia antillarum.