Coccothrinax alexandri León (1939: 122)

Henderson, Andrew, 2023, A revision of Coccothrinax, Hemithrinax, Leucothrinax, Thrinax, and Zombia (Arecaceae), Phytotaxa 614 (1), pp. 1-115 : 22-24

1.1. Coccothrinax alexandri León (1939: 122) .

Lectotype (designated by Moya 2020):— CUBA. Oriente, Baracoa, Pedegrales de Maisí , October 1934, A. López & P. Bermúdez 16191 (lectotype HAC!, isolectotypes A!, BH!, GH!, MICH n.v., MICH image!, US!). Plate 1

Coccothrinax alexandri var. nitida León (1939: 123) . Coccothrinax alexandri subsp. nitida (León) Borhidi & Muñiz (1971a: 175). Lectotype (designated by Moya 2020):— CUBA. Oriente, Baracoa, Circanias de Imías, July 1932, J. Pérez 15822 (holotype HAC!, isotypes BH!, MICH n.v., MICH image!, US!).

Coccothrinax bermudezii León (1939: 124) . Lectotype (designated by Moya 2020):— CUBA. Oriente, S. E. de Baracoa, Paso de Cuba, July 1935, P. Bermúdez & A. López 16290 (lectotype HAC!, isolectotypes A!, FTG!, GH!, MICH n.v., MICH image!, MT n.v., US!).

Stems length and diameter not recorded, solitary. Leaves more or less deciduous or only leaf bases persisting on stem; leaf sheath fibers 1.3(1.0–2.0) mm diameter, stout, woody, loosely woven, ± joined or briefly free at the apices; petioles 13.5(8.7–19.4) mm diameter just below the apex; palmans 11.8(5.0–21.0) cm long, relatively short, with the adaxial veins prominent and terminating in a slight raised ridge and distinct pulvinus; leaf blades not wedge-shaped; segments 33(25–44) per leaf, the middle ones 42.1(29.0–54.5) cm long and 3.7(2.6–5.0) cm wide; segments not pendulous at the apices, giving the leaf a flat appearance; middle leaf segments relatively short and broad, abruptly narrowed (shoulder) toward the apex, otherwise parallel-sided, often strongly folded, stiff and leathery, the apices briefly splitting; middle leaf segment apices attenuate; leaf segments not waxy or sometimes with a deciduous, thin layer of wax adaxially, densely indumentose abaxially, with irregularly shaped, persistent, interlocking, fimbriate hairs, each one with a rounded, raised, light green to greenish-brown or reddish-brown center, without transverse veinlets. Inflorescences curving, arching, or pendulous amongst the leaves, with few partial inflorescences; rachis bracts somewhat flattened, loosely sheathing, usually tomentose with a dense tuft of erect hairs at the apex; partial inflorescences 3; proximalmost rachillae recurved, 6.2(4.7–9.5) cm long and 1.4(1.2–1.7) mm diameter in fruit; rachillae glabrous at or near anthesis; stamens 7(6–8); fruit pedicels 0.9(0.6–1.7) mm long; fruits 8.2(7.2–9.1) mm long and 8.1(7.2–9.0) mm diameter, color not recorded; fruit surfaces smooth or sometimes with projecting fibers; seed surfaces deeply lobed, the lobes running from base of seeds almost to apices.

Distribution and habitat:— Cuba (Guantánamo) ( Fig. 8 ) on limestone rocks at 470(100–840) m elevation.

Taxonomic notes:— Two preliminary species ( C. alexandri , C. bermudezii ) share a unique combination of character states and are recognized as a single, phylogenetic species, for which the name C. alexandri is here chosen. It is similar to C. miraguama , differing only in its recurved proximalmost rachillae. While recurved rachillae are obvious on the type specimen, they are not so clear on other specimens. León described the type as having leaf sheaths with 3-layered fibers, but it appears to have both 2-layered and 3-layered fibers; another specimen (León 18120) from the same locality has 2-layered fibers. Plants are reported to have exceptionally tall stems ( León 1939, Craft 2017). León compared C. alexandri var. nitida to C. montana from Hispaniola.

León (1939) described C. bermudezii and compared it to C. alexandri , from which he considered it differed by its shorter stems and larger fruits. However, it appears little different. One specimen (León 18597) was determined, apparently by León, as C. bermudezii , but occurs at or near the type locality of C. alexandrii . One other specimen (Schultes 413), tentatively determined as preliminary species C. bermudezii , has leaf segments with the same reddish-brown centers to the hairs as the type of C. bermudezii , but has larger leaves and is said to occur at an elevation of 2,500 –3,000 ft. León (1939) considered that C. bermudezii and C. alexandri marked a transition between his subseries Cernuae and subseries Curvatae .

Figures

PLATE 1. Coccothrinax alexandri, Cuba, with tall, solitary stems. (Image by Raúl Verdecia Pérez).

FIGURE 8. Distribution of Coccothrinax alexandri and C. argentata.