''Butia arenicola'' is a very small species of ''
Butia
''Butia'' is a genus of palms in the family Arecaceae, native to the South American countries of Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. Many species produce edible fruits, which are sometimes used to make alcoholic beverages and other foods. ...
''
palm
Palm most commonly refers to:
* Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand
* Palm plants, of family Arecaceae
**List of Arecaceae genera
* Several other plants known as "palm"
Palm or Palms may also refer to:
Music
* Palm (ba ...
with an
underground trunk; native to
Paraguay
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
and the state of
Mato Grosso do Sul
Mato Grosso do Sul () is one of the Midwestern states of Brazil. Neighboring Brazilian states are (from north clockwise) Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay, to the southwest, and ...
in Brazil. ''Boquierinho'' is recorded as a possible local
vernacular name
A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
for it (if the specimen was correctly identified).
[Orrell T, Hollowell T (2018). NMNH Extant Specimen Records. Version 1.19. National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/hnhrg3 accessed via GBIF.org on 2018-10-10. https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/1318762250]
Etymology
The species epithet ''arenicola'' refers to the habitat it was originally collected in: ''harēna'' or ''arēna'' is Latin for 'sand', the suffix ''-cola'' is Latin for 'inhabiting'.
[
]
Taxonomy
''Butia arenicola'' was collected by the Swiss physician and botanist Émile Hassler in Paraguay, in sandy plains in the highlands of the Cordillera de Altos in January 1898 – 1899. It was first formally described as ''Cocos arenicola'' by João Barbosa Rodrigues
João Barbosa Rodrigues (June 22, 1842 – March 6, 1909) was considered one of Brazil's greatest botanists, known especially for his work on orchids and palms. For nearly two decades he was director of the Botanic Garden of Rio de Janeiro. Somet ...
in 1903,
using this specimen as a type.[Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève - G. Geneva Herbarium – General Collection (G). Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/rvjdu1 accessed via GBIF.org on 2018-10-09. https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/1144614655]
Max Burret
Karl Ewald Maximilian Burret, commonly known as Max Burret (6 June 1883 – 19 September 1964) was a German botanist.
Burret was born in Saffig near Andernach in the Prussian Rhine Province. He originally studied law at Lausanne and Munic ...
, working in Berlin, moved this taxon to ''Butia'' in 1930.
Meanwhile, in the United States, Frambach had taken to calling this taxon ''Syagrus arenicola'', although he did not formally move the species.
Dahlgren validated this name in 1936.[
Sidney Glassman recognised the taxon in 1970 under this last name,][ but in 1979 changed his mind and recognised it under ''Butia''.] In 1970 Glassman, who had not travelled to the region to observe the plants ''in situ'', considered the species identifiable in most of the specimens labelled as such that he had examined, but in his entry about the taxon he presents a large amount of text expressing doubts that this dwarf taxon might merely be immature individuals of ''Butia capitata
''Butia capitata'', also known as jelly palm, is a '' Butia'' palm native to the states of Minas Gerais and Goiás in Brazil. It is known locally as ''coquinho-azedo'' or ''butiá'' in (northern) Minas Gerais.Fruits of Butia capitata (Mart.) Becc ...
'' (in which he included ''B. odorata''), as he theorized that perhaps certain characters which set this taxon apart, such as reduced pinnae (leaflet) width and size of the trunk and inflorescence, were in fact related to age of the specimen.[ Note that both ''B. capitata'' and ''B. odorata'' occur far from where ''B. arenicola'' was known to grow at the time.][ An 1848 collection by ]Anders Fredrik Regnell
Anders Fredrik Regnell (8 June 1807 – 12 September 1884) was a Swedish physician and botanist. He studied in Uppsala and received his medical doctorate in 1837. As a student he served as assistant to Anders Retzius in Stockholm. He served in v ...
in Uberaba
Uberaba () is a city in the state of Minas Gerais, southeast Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Highlands at above sea level on the Uberaba River, and away from the state capital, Belo Horizonte. The city status was granted in 1856, and i ...
, Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...
, much earlier than Hassler's collection of the type, was classified as a combination of an inflorescence of ''Syagrus'' aff. ''arenicola'' and a leaf of ''S. flexuosa'' by Glassman in 1968.[Orrell T, Hollowell T (2018). NMNH Extant Specimen Records. Version 1.19. National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/hnhrg3 accessed via GBIF.org on 2018-10-09. https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/1321377389] Glassman further determined a group of specimens collected by William Andrew Archer
William Andrew Archer (1894–1973) was an American economic botanist, ethnobotanist, taxonomist, plant explorer, and herbarium curator. He was born in Torreon, Mexico to American parents. Archer studied at New Mexico State College, earning his ...
and Augusto Gehrt in 1936 in Jaraguari, Mato Grosso do Sul, to be ''S.'' aff. ''arenicola''.[Orrell T, Hollowell T (2018). NMNH Extant Specimen Records. Version 1.19. National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/hnhrg3 accessed via GBIF.org on 2018-10-10. https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/1320607193] Glassman lastly also identified as ''S.'' aff. ''arenicola'' a specimen collected by Amaro Macedo in 1950 at a locality likely to be Nova Ponte along the Rio Verde, in Água Clara, Mato Grosso do Sul.[ Note that this area is also the type locality for '' Butia matogrossensis''.][ Glassman reclassified all these collections as ''B. arenicola'' in 1982.][
In 1995 Henderson ''et al.'' considered this taxon a synonym of ''B. paraguayensis''.][ ]Rafaël Govaerts
Rafaël Herman Anna Govaerts (born 1968) is a Belgian botanist. He is particularly noted for his work on plant taxonomy.
He has worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew since the 1990s, and is the principal contributor to the World Checklist of ...
followed them in 1996, as did Govaerts & Dransfield in 2005, and Lorenzi ''et al.'' in the Arecaceae of the 2010 Flora Brasileira.
Larry Noblick, a US palm expert, did not follow this interpretation, and was determining herbarium exxicata as ''B. arenicola'' by 2007. Noblick re-examined at least one specimen which had been assigned to ''B. paraguayensis'' and reassigned this to ''B. arenicola'': an 1882 collection by Benjamin Balansa
file:Benjamin Balansa par de Lacger Toulouse.jpg, Benjamin Balansa
Gaspard Joseph Benedict Balansa, also known as Benjamin Balansa or Benedict Balansa (25 March 1825 – 2 November 1891) was a French botanist.
Born in Narbonne in 1825, Balansa mad ...
in Valenzuela Valenzuela may refer to:
Places
* Valenzuela, Paraguay
* Valenzuela, Metro Manila, Philippines
* Valenzuela, Spain
* Valenzuela de Calatrava, Spain
* Valenzuela, Louisiana
Other uses
* Valenzuela (surname), including a list of people with the n ...
, Cordillera department, Paraguay, also collected earlier than Hassler's collection of the type.[Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève - G. Geneva Herbarium – General Collection (G). Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/rvjdu1 accessed via GBIF.org on 2018-10-09. https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/1144614695]
In 2009 Irene M. Gauto recognised this taxon as a distinct species, despite otherwise following Henderson ''et al.'' in her work acquiring a Masters in Biology degree at the University of Geneva
The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centu ...
.[ In 2011 she, along with two co-authors, published an updated version of this work, in which ''Butia arenicola'' was again recognised.]
Soares in 2015 followed these later works in recognising this taxon as a valid, independent species. He, along with R. Pimenta, collected a specimen in 2012 in between the municipalities of Água Clara and Três Lagoas
Três Lagoas ("Three Ponds") is a municipality in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. It is the third most populous city in that state. Founded in 1915, colonization began in 1880 by Luís Correia Neves Filho, Antônio Trajano dos Santos e Protásio Garci ...
in Mato Grosso do Sul
Mato Grosso do Sul () is one of the Midwestern states of Brazil. Neighboring Brazilian states are (from north clockwise) Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay, to the southwest, and ...
, Brazil, which he identified as ''B. arenicola''. In 2015 he published a treatment of the entire genus ''Butia'' in which he published his opinion on the matter,[ and this was followed in the Arecaceae section of the Lista de Espécies da Flora do Brasil published by Leitman ''et al.'' in 2015.][
]
Description
This is a solitary-trunked palm with a subterranean trunk only 5 by 8 cm in size. The 3 to 8 leaves have a 15–34 cm by 1 cm wide petiole with a margin toothed with tiny teeth to only 1mm in length, and a rachis 70–85 cm in length with 12-30 pairs of pinnae (leaflets) placed at regular intervals in one plane (each pair forming a 'V'-shape). The pinnae in the middle of leaf are 35–45 cm in length and 0.5-1.1 cm in width. The branched inflorescence is protected in a woody spathe
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...
30–40 cm in length, of which the swollen part is 10–28 cm long by 1.5–3 cm wide; this spathe is usually glabrous
Glabrousness (from the Latin '' glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...
(hairless) but may rarely be covered in a tomentose
Trichomes (); ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a pl ...
indumentum
In biology, an indumentum (Latin, literally: "garment") is a covering of trichomes (fine "hairs") on a plant Davis, Peter Hadland and Heywood, Vernon Hilton (1963) ''Principles of angiosperm taxonomy'' Van Nostrandpage, Princeton, New Jersey, pa ...
. The inflorescence has a 13–25 cm long peduncle with a 0.5–15 cm long rachis with 3-22 rachillae (branches) 8–18 cm long. The flowers are coloured cream-yellow or purple. The pistillate (female) flower is only 0.5–0.8mm in length; the staminate (male) flower 0.8-1mm. The shape of the fruit and that of the nut within is ovoid. The 2.2-2.4 cm by 1.2-1.8 cm fruit are coloured brownish-yellow, with yellow acidic-sweet flesh, and contain 1 to 2 seeds within the 1-1.3 cm by 0.9-1.1 cm nut.[
]
Similar species
In 1979 Glassman provided a key which contrasted this species with ''Butia capitata
''Butia capitata'', also known as jelly palm, is a '' Butia'' palm native to the states of Minas Gerais and Goiás in Brazil. It is known locally as ''coquinho-azedo'' or ''butiá'' in (northern) Minas Gerais.Fruits of Butia capitata (Mart.) Becc ...
'' (in which he included ''B. odorata''), in which he considered the main difference to be the small trunk, the generally smaller dimensions of the pinnae, spathe
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...
, spadix, as well as a one-seeded fruit and tiny 2mm petiolar
In botany, the petiole () is the stalk that attaches the leaf blade to the stem, and is able to twist the leaf to face the sun. This gives a characteristic foliage arrangement to the plant. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole in som ...
teeth as opposed to 11 cm-long spines in ''B. capitata''. He distinguished both ''B. arenicola'' and ''B. capitata'' from ''B. eriospatha'' by the hairless spathes.[
Soares considers the species the most similar to ''B. matogrossensis''. It can be distinguished by always having smaller vegetative parts and sometimes by differences in the relative sizes of the spathe and inflorescence, with ''B. arenicola'' having an inflorescence generally enclosed within the spathe.][
In his 2017 key to the genus, Marcelo Piske Eslabão also contrasts it to ''B. matogrossensis'', distinguishing it from this species by yellow instead of red fruit, and smaller spathes and pistillate flowers.]
It grows in the same areas as ''B. lepidotispatha'',[ as well as ''B. paraguayensis'' and ''B. exospadix''.][ In the Yaguareté Forest in Paraguay it occurs together with ''B. lepidotispatha'' and ''B. exospadix''.][
]
Distribution
It grows in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul
Mato Grosso do Sul () is one of the Midwestern states of Brazil. Neighboring Brazilian states are (from north clockwise) Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay, to the southwest, and ...
in Brazil[ and specimens have been collected in the departments of ]Amambay
Amambay () is a department in Paraguay. The capital is Pedro Juan Caballero.
The name comes from the name of a part of the Caaguazú Cordillera, "Amambai Mountains". Amambay is the name of a fern, typical of the forest in the region.
Distric ...
,[ Canindeyú,][ ]Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
,[ ]Cordillera
A cordillera is an extensive chain and/or network system of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope').
The term is most commonly us ...
,[ Itapúa,][ ]Misiones
Misiones (, ''Missions'') is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil to the north, east and south, and Corrientes P ...
[ and San Pedro][ in Paraguay.
Glassman determined two collections from Mato Grosso do Sul as ''B. arenicola'' in 1982: one in Jaraguari in 1936, and one in likely Água Clara in 1950. It is now unclear if these identifications were correct.][ Gauto ''et al.'' state their belief in 2011 that this taxon is endemic to Paraguay; it is unclear if that means they disregarded the Brazilian specimens determined as ''Butia arenicola'' by Glassman as misidentified, or were unaware of them.][ In any case, in 2012 Soares collected it again in Mato Grosso do Sul in ]Três Lagoas
Três Lagoas ("Three Ponds") is a municipality in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. It is the third most populous city in that state. Founded in 1915, colonization began in 1880 by Luís Correia Neves Filho, Antônio Trajano dos Santos e Protásio Garci ...
, confirming its presence.[ By 2017 it had been collected (or identified as such) in at least two locations in Brazil; the afore-mentioned collection by Soares and a 1987 collection from Bela Vista by E.L. Perez.][
It may have been collected in ]Uberaba
Uberaba () is a city in the state of Minas Gerais, southeast Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Highlands at above sea level on the Uberaba River, and away from the state capital, Belo Horizonte. The city status was granted in 1856, and i ...
, Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...
in 1848, but it is unclear if Glassman correctly identified this collection.[
With an estimated extent of occurrence of approximately 17,500 km2, it has a wider range than most species within the genus ''Butia''. Within this estimated extent of occurrence, it was calculated to occupy some 10,000 km2 (the area of occupancy), giving it an abundance of 57%, which is rather average within the genus ''Butia''. As of 2017 it is known from at least 13 collection localities.][
]
Habitat
It grows in cerrado
The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are t ...
in Brazil.[ It grows in cerrado and a habitat called " wet chaco" in Paraguay. The areas it grows in have marked seasonal differences, with a cooler, very wet winter where the surface may temporarily be flooded in low-lying places, and hot and dry summers with often prolonged droughts.][
]
Conservation
In 2011 Gauto ''et al.'' considered this species to be of 'least concern' in Paraguay. They consider it probable that it has a wider distribution than at that time known, and that it is likely under-collected, although they mention that so little collection of this taxon has occurred that the low amount of specimens they used in their calculations may cause their method of estimating the population to show a larger extent of occurrence than may actually be the case.[
As of 2018 the conservation status has not been evaluated by the ]Centro Nacional de Conservação da Flora
The Centro Nacional de Conservação da Flora (CNCFlora) is a Brazilian nonprofit organization that determines conservation statuses of various Brazilian plant species. It intends to create a Red List (''lista vermelha'' in Portuguese) of plants ...
in Brazil,[ but in a 2017 dissertation by Eslabão he advocates to classify the species as 'vulnerable' for Brazil as the IUCN categories B1ab (i, ii, iii) apply; this means that the estimated extent of occurrence (see ]distribution Distribution may refer to:
Mathematics
*Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations
* Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a vari ...
above) was lower than 20,000 km2, it occurs in less than 10 localities in Brazil, and that according to Eslabão the population was highly fragmented and in decline.[
The only known population to be found protected within a nature conservation area is at the Yacyretá Dam Island Reserve at Parque Nacional Lago Ypacarai in Itapua, Paraguay, with three known localities here.][
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q10260420
arenicola
Trees of Paraguay
Trees of Brazil