''Geonoma'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of small to medium-sized palms native to the forest

understorey In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abov ...

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

Central and South America. This palm genus is one of the largest in the

Neotropics The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropics, tropical Ecoregion#Terrestrial, terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperat ...

. Its 64

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

are distributed from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

in the north 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 ...

in the south; two are found in the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc betwe ...

Uses

In South America, the leaves of species such as ''

Geonoma deversa ''Geonoma'' is a genus of small to medium-sized palms native to the forest understorey of tropical Central and South America. This palm genus is one of the largest in the Neotropics. Its 64 species are distributed from Mexico and Haiti in the ...

'', '' Geonoma orbignyana'', and '' Geonoma macrostachys'' are economically important for their use in thatching roofs.

Taxonomy

The genus is a member of the palm tribe

Geonomateae Geonomateae (also Geonomeae) is a palm tribe in the subfamily Arecoideae. It is an important Neotropical group due to its wide distribution across Central and South America, its diversity and abundance, and the use of a number of species by local ...

(

Arecaceae 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 ...

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 ...

), an important

Neotropic The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

al group due to its wide distribution across Central and South America, its diversity and abundance, and the use of a number of species by local human populations. The distribution of the tribe Geonomeae stretches from southeast Mexico down through Central America and into South America, notably

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

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 ...

, and species are also found in the Greater and Lesser

Antilles The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...

. This tribe consists of a group of understory and sub-canopy palms that populate both tropical lowland and

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

s. While members of this group are relatively easy to collect, as they are not canopy palms or spiny palms, and are well represented in

herbaria A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...

, the taxonomy and phylogeny of the species within the tribe are still uncertain. The resolution of the tribe has been disputed despite the fact that

species are characterized by three morphological

synapomorphies In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel character or character state that has evolved from its ancestral form (or plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy shared by two or more taxa and is therefore hypothesized to have ...

: the petals of pistillate flowers are basally connate, the presence of slender and elongate styles, and the flowers are borne in pits in the rachillae.

Species

The following species are currently recognized: * '' Geonoma appuniana''

Spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...

* '' Geonoma arundinacea''

Mart. Carl Friedrich Philipp (Karl Friedrich Philipp) von Martius (17 April 1794 – 13 December 1868) was a German botanist and explorer. Life Martius was born at Erlangen, the son of Prof Ernst Wilhelm Martius, court apothecary. He graduated PhD f ...

* ''

Geonoma aspidiifolia ''Geonoma'' is a genus of small to medium-sized palms native to the forest understorey of tropical Central and South America. This palm genus is one of the largest in the Neotropics. Its 64 species are distributed from Mexico and Haiti in the ...

* '' Geonoma atrovirens'' Borchs. & Balslev * '' Geonoma baculifera'' ( Poit.)

Kunth Carl Sigismund Kunth (18 June 1788 – 22 March 1850), also Karl Sigismund Kunth or anglicized as Charles Sigismund Kunth, was a German botanist. He is known for being one of the first to study and categorise plants from the American continents, ...

* '' Geonoma brenesii'' Grayum * '' Geonoma brevispatha'' Barb.Rodr. * '' Geonoma brongniartii''

* '' Geonoma camana'' Trail * '' Geonoma chlamydostachys'' Galeano-Garcés * '' Geonoma chococola'' Wess.Boer * '' Geonoma concinna''

Burret Burret () is a commune in the Ariège department of southwestern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in t ...

* '' Geonoma congesta'' H.Wendl. ex

* ''

Geonoma cuneata ''Geonoma'' is a genus of small to medium-sized palms native to the forest understorey of tropical Central and South America. This palm genus is one of the largest in the Neotropics. Its 64 species are distributed from Mexico and Haiti in the ...

'' H.Wendl. ex

* '' Geonoma densa'' Linden & H.Wendl. * ''

'' ( Poit.)

* '' Geonoma divisa'' H.E.Moore * '' Geonoma epetiolata'' H.E.Moore * '' Geonoma ferruginea'' H.Wendl. ex

* '' Geonoma frontinensis'' * '' Geonoma gamiova'' Barb.Rodr. * ''

Geonoma gastoniana ''Geonoma'' is a genus of small to medium-sized palms native to the forest understorey of tropical Central and South America. This palm genus is one of the largest in the Neotropics. Its 64 species are distributed from Mexico and Haiti in the ...

'' Glaz. ex

Drude In German folklore, a drude (german: Drude, pl. ''Druden'') is a kind of malevolent nocturnal spirit (an elf ( Alp) or kobold or a hag) associated with nightmares, prevalent especially in Southern Germany. Druden were said to participate in the ...

* '' Geonoma hoffmanniana'' H.Wendl. ex

* '' Geonoma hugonis'' Grayum &

Nevers Nevers ( , ; la, Noviodunum, later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is the prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the principal city of the ...

* '' Geonoma interrupta'' (

Ruiz The Spanish surname Ruiz originates from the Germanic personal name " Hrodric" which is composed of the elements "Hrōd", meaning "renown", and "rīc", meaning "power(ful)", thus "famous ruler". Ruiz is a patronymic from the personal name Ruy, a sh ...

& Pav.)

* '' Geonoma irena'' Borchs. * '' Geonoma jussieuana''

in A.D.d'Orbigny * '' Geonoma laxiflora''

* '' Geonoma leptospadix'' Trail * '' Geonoma linearis''

* '' Geonoma longipedunculata''

* ''

Geonoma longivaginata ''Geonoma'' is a genus of small to medium-sized palms native to the forest understorey of tropical Central and South America. This palm genus is one of the largest in the Neotropics. Its 64 species are distributed from Mexico and Haiti in the ...

'' H.Wendl. ex

* '' Geonoma macrostachys''

* '' Geonoma maxima'' ( Poit.)

* '' Geonoma monospatha'' de Nevers * '' Geonoma mooreana'' de Nevers & Grayum * ''

Geonoma myriantha ''Geonoma'' is a genus of small to medium-sized palms native to the forest understorey of tropical Central and South America. This palm genus is one of the largest in the Neotropics. Its 64 species are distributed from Mexico and Haiti in the ...

'' Dammer * '' Geonoma oldemanii'' Granv. * '' Geonoma oligoclona'' Trail * '' Geonoma orbignyana''

in A.D.d'Orbigny * '' Geonoma paradoxa''

* '' Geonoma paraguanensis''

H.Karst. Gustav Karl Wilhelm Hermann Karsten (6 November 1817, in Stralsund – 10 July 1908, in Zoppot) was a German botanist and geologist. Born in Stralsund, he followed the example of Alexander von Humboldt and traveled 1844-56 the northern part of So ...

* '' Geonoma pauciflora''

* '' Geonoma poeppigiana''

in A.D.d'Orbigny * '' Geonoma pohliana''

* '' Geonoma polyandra'' Skov * '' Geonoma polyneura''

* '' Geonoma rubescens'' H.Wendl. ex

* '' Geonoma santanderensis'' Galeano & R.Bernal * '' Geonoma schottiana''

* '' Geonoma scoparia'' Grayum &

* '' Geonoma seleri''

* '' Geonoma simplicifrons''

Willd. Carl Ludwig Willdenow (22 August 1765 – 10 July 1812) was a German botanist, pharmacist, and plant taxonomist. He is considered one of the founders of phytogeography, the study of the geographic distribution of plants. Willdenow was also ...

* '' Geonoma spinescens'' H.Wendl. * '' Geonoma stricta'' ( Poit.)

* '' Geonoma supracostata'' Svenning * '' Geonoma talamancana'' Grayum * '' Geonoma tenuissima'' H.E.Moore * '' Geonoma triandra'' (

) Wess.Boer * '' Geonoma triglochin''

* '' Geonoma trigona'' (

& Pav.) A.H.Gentry * '' Geonoma umbraculiformis'' Wess.Boer * ''

Geonoma undata ''Geonoma undata'' is a species of medium-sized palm tree native to North and South America. It grows in the understory of tropical forests at high altitudes. This species has highly variable traits depending on its geographic location and sever ...

Klotzsch Johann Friedrich Klotzsch (9 June 1805 – 5 November 1860) was a German pharmacist and botanist. His principal work was in the field of mycology, with the study and description of many species of mushroom. Klotzsch was born in Wittenberg. Origin ...

* '' Geonoma weberbaueri'' Dammer ex

* '' Geonoma wilsonii'' Galeano & R.Bernal

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q142256 Trees of the Caribbean Trees of Central America Trees of South America Arecaceae genera