''Desmoncus'' is a genus of mostly climbing, spiny palms native to the Neotropics. The genus extends from Mexico in the north to Brazil and

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

in the south, with two species present in the southeastern

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

( Trinidad and the Windward Islands).Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J. (2005). World Checklist of Palms: 1–223. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Description

''Desmoncus'' is best known as a genus of climbing palms. Twenty-three of the 24 species recognised by Andrew Henderson in his revision of the genus are climbers; only one, '' D. stans'' is free-standing. Almost all Neotropical climbing palms belong to ''Desmoncus''—the one exception being ''

Chamaedorea ''Chamaedorea'' is a genus of 107 species of palms, native to subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas.Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, palms checklist''Chamaedorea''/ref>Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan ...

elatior''. ''Desmoncus'' leaves are

pinnately compound Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and in ...

and are made up of a leaf sheath, petioles, rachis, and individual leaflets. The ends of the leaves are modified into a climbing structure called a cirrus. Instead of leaflets, the cirrus usually has

grappling hook A grappling hook or grapnel is a device that typically has multiple hooks (known as ''claws'' or ''flukes'') attached to a rope; it is thrown, dropped, sunk, projected, or fastened directly by hand to where at least one hook may catch and hol ...

-like structures called acanthophylls; in some species the cirrus is less well developed and is almost absent in ''D. stans'', the non-climbing species. All parts of the leaves, including the leaflets themselves, are covered with spines. Most species have straight spines that are over long, but a few species have curved spines that are less than 1 cm long.

Taxonomy

John Dransfield and colleagues put ''Desmoncus'' in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Arecoideae The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm trees ...

, the tribe Cocoseae and the subtribe Bactridinae, together with ''

Aiphanes ''Aiphanes'' is a genus of spiny palms which is native to tropical regions of South and Central America and the Caribbean.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families There are about 26 species in the genus (see below), ranging in size fr ...

'', '' Acrocomia'', ''

Astrocaryum ''Astrocaryum'' is a genus of about 36 to 40 species of palms native to Central and South America and Trinidad. Description ''Astrocaryum'' is a genus of spiny palms with pinnately compound leaves–rows of leaflets emerge on either side of th ...

'' and '' Bactris''. The genus was described by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius in 1824. The first species described was '' D. polyacanthos''. Martius later described six additional species that he placed in the genus. In this 1881 ''Flora Brasiliensis'', Carl Georg Oscar Drude recognised 17 species. João Barbosa Rodrigues recognised 28 species in his 1903 work ''Setum Palmarum Brasiliensis''. Max Burret published a revision of the entire genus in 1934. Burret described nine new species and ended up recognising a total of 41 species. In the 1940s, Liberty Hyde Bailey added 14 additional species to the genus ''Desmoncus''. Jan Wessels Boer rejected the species concept used by Bailey, Barbosa Rodrigues, and Burret as being too narrow and ended up recognising only seven species In his 2011 revision of the genus, Andrew Henderson recognised 24 species.

Distribution

''Desmoncus'' ranges from Mexico in the north to Bolivia and Brazil in the south. Most species occur at lower elevations, but some species range as high as above sea level. The species are mostly found in lowland tropical rainforest. Twelve species occur in Colombia, the most species-rich country, while 10 are found in Brazil.

Species

* '' Desmoncus chinantlensis'' Liebm. ex Mart. – southern Mexico and Central America (Veracruz to Nicaragua) * ''

Desmoncus cirrhifer ''Desmoncus'' is a genus of mostly climbing, spiny palms native to the Neotropics. The genus extends from Mexico in the north to Brazil and Bolivia in the south, with two species present in the southeastern Caribbean (Trinidad and the Windward ...

'' A.H.Gentry & Zardini – Panama, Colombia, Ecuador * '' Desmoncus costaricensis'' (Kuntze) Burret – Costa Rica * ''

Desmoncus giganteus ''Desmoncus'' is a genus of mostly climbing, spiny palms native to the Neotropics. The genus extends from Mexico in the north to Brazil and Bolivia in the south, with two species present in the southeastern Caribbean (Trinidad and the Windward ...

'' A.J.Hend. – Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, western Brazil * ''

Desmoncus horridus ''Desmoncus'' is a genus of mostly climbing, spiny palms native to the Neotropics. The genus extends from Mexico in the north to Brazil and Bolivia in the south, with two species present in the southeastern Caribbean (Trinidad and the Windward ...

'' Splitg. ex Mart. – Trinidad, Venezuela, the Guianas, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil * '' Desmoncus interjectus'' A.J.Hend. – Colombia * '' Desmoncus kunarius'' de Nevers ex A.J.Hend. – Panama * '' Desmoncus latisectus'' Burret – Bolivia * '' Desmoncus leptoclonos'' Drude – Paraguay, Brazil * ''

Desmoncus loretanus ''Desmoncus'' is a genus of mostly climbing, spiny palms native to the Neotropics. The genus extends from Mexico in the north to Brazil and Bolivia in the south, with two species present in the southeastern Caribbean (Trinidad and the Windward ...

'' A.J.Hend. – Loreto region of Peru * ''

Desmoncus madrensis ''Desmoncus'' is a genus of mostly climbing, spine (botany), spiny Arecaceae, palms native to the Neotropics. The genus extends from Mexico in the north to Brazil and Bolivia in the south, with two species present in the southeastern Caribbean (T ...

'' A.J.Hend. – Peru * ''

Desmoncus mitis ''Desmoncus'' is a genus of mostly climbing, spiny palms native to the Neotropics. The genus extends from Mexico in the north to Brazil and Bolivia in the south, with two species present in the southeastern Caribbean (Trinidad and the Windward ...

'' Mart. – Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia * ''

Desmoncus moorei ''Desmoncus'' is a genus of mostly climbing, spiny palms native to the Neotropics. The genus extends from Mexico in the north to Brazil and Bolivia in the south, with two species present in the southeastern Caribbean (Trinidad and the Windward ...

'' A.J.Hend. – Nicaragua, Costa Rica * '' Desmoncus myriacanthos'' Dugand. – Panama, Colombia, Venezuela * ''

Desmoncus obovoideus ''Desmoncus'' is a genus of mostly climbing, spiny palms native to the Neotropics. The genus extends from Mexico in the north to Brazil and Bolivia in the south, with two species present in the southeastern Caribbean (Trinidad and the Windward ...

'' A.J.Hend. – Panama * '' Desmoncus orthacanthos'' Mart. – eastern Brazil * '' Desmoncus osensis'' A.J.Hend. – Costa Rica * ''

Desmoncus parvulus ''Desmoncus'' is a genus of mostly climbing, spiny palms native to the Neotropics. The genus extends from Mexico in the north to Brazil and Bolivia in the south, with two species present in the southeastern Caribbean (Trinidad and the Windward ...

'' L.H.Bailey – Venezuela, Colombia, northwestern Brazil, the Guianas * '' Desmoncus polyacanthos'' Mart. – Trinidad, Windward Islands, Venezuela, the Guianas, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil * '' Desmoncus prunifer'' Poepp. ex Mart. – Loreto region of Peru * '' Desmoncus pumilus'' Trail. – Colombia, northwestern Brazil * ''

Desmoncus setosus ''Desmoncus'' is a genus of mostly climbing, spiny palms native to the Neotropics. The genus extends from Mexico in the north to Brazil and Bolivia in the south, with two species present in the southeastern Caribbean (Trinidad and the Windward ...

'' Mart. – Colombia, northwestern Brazil * '' Desmoncus stans'' Grayum & Nevers – Costa Rica * ''

Desmoncus vacivus ''Desmoncus'' is a genus of mostly climbing, spiny palms native to the Neotropics. The genus extends from Mexico in the north to Brazil and Bolivia in the south, with two species present in the southeastern Caribbean (Trinidad and the Windward ...

'' L.H.Bailey – Colombia, northwestern Brazil, Peru

References

* Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius: ''The Book of Palms/Das Buch der Palmen/Le livre des palmiers'', introduced by the editor H. Walter Lack, Taschen Verlag, Köln, Germany 2010 {{Taxonbar, from=Q2711628 Trees of the Caribbean Trees of Central America Trees of South America Trees of Mexico Arecaceae genera Taxa named by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius