Coccothrinax gonaivensis Henderson, Fernández & Bacon

Henderson, Andrew, 2023, A revision of Coccothrinax, Hemithrinax, Leucothrinax, Thrinax, and Zombia (Arecaceae), Phytotaxa 614 (1), pp. 1-115 : 51

1.16. Coccothrinax gonaivensis Henderson, Fernández & Bacon in Henderson et al. (2023: 108). Type:— HAITI. Dept. Artibonite, Presqu’ile du Nord-Ouest, 5.6 km al oeste de Gonaives en la carretera costera a Anse Rouge, 19°28’N 72°43’W, 100 m, 11 June 1985, T. Zanoni, M. Mejía & R. García 35154 (holotype JBSD!). Plate 13

Stems 5.0(2.0–8.0) m long and 3.8 cm diameter,branching not recorded. Leaves more or less deciduous or only leaf bases persisting on stem; leaf sheath fibers 0.4(0.2–0.5) mm diameter, stout, loosely woven and forming a loose, hexagonal mesh, initially forming ligules at the apices; petioles 7.1(6.6–7.6) mm diameter just below the apex; palmans 2.2 cm long, relatively short, with the adaxial veins prominent and terminating in a slight raised ridge and distinct pulvinus; leaf blades wedge-shaped; segments 22(21–23) per leaf, the middle ones 51.8(46.5–57.0) cm long and 1.9(1.8–2.0) 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 with not waxy or sometimes with a deciduous, thin layer of wax adaxially, densely indumentose abaxially, with irregularly shaped, semi-persistent, interlocking, fimbriate hairs without an obvious center, 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 4; proximalmost rachillae straight, 3.8 cm long and 0.9 mm diameter in fruit; rachillae uneven at or near anthesis with lines of warty outgrowths, these often becoming more pronounced as fruits develop; stamens not recorded; fruit pedicels 0.1 mm long; fruits 3.9 mm long and 4.0 mm diameter, color not recorded; fruit surfaces smooth or sometimes with projecting fibers; seed surfaces lobed, the lobes running from base of seeds approximately to equator.

Distribution and habitat:— Haiti (Artibonite) ( Fig. 12 ) on limestone scree at 86(72–100) m elevation.

Taxonomic notes:— As a preliminary species, Coccothrinax gonaivensis 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 ). In this group it is similar to C. jimenezii but differs in its leaf segments that are densely indumentose abaxially. Specimens were previously included in C. jimenezii , but Jestrow et al. (2016) showed that the two represented different taxa. Inflorescences of the type are branched to three orders. Peguero et al. (2015) noted that the small population consisted mostly of juveniles that were not reproductive.

Figures

FIGURE 12. Distribution of Coccothrinax fagildei, C. fragrans, C. garciana, and C. gonaivensis.

PLATE 13. Coccothrinax gonaivensis, Haiti, with wedge-shaped leaf blades and segments not pendulous at the apices, giving the leaf a flat appearance. (Image by Eladio Fernández).