monoecious
Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system alongside gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy.
Monoecy is conne ...
anthers
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...
, and slight epicarp, mesocarp, and endocarp differences.Uhl, Natalie W. and Dransfield, John (1987) ''Genera Palmarum - A classification of palms based on the work of Harold E. Moore''. Lawrence, Kansas: Allen Press. / The name is Greek for "loose" and "nut".Riffle, Robert L. and Craft, Paul (2003) ''An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms''. Portland: Timber Press. /
Species accepted:
* ''
Lytocaryum hoehnei
''Lytocaryum'' is a monoecious genus of flowering plant in the palm family endemic to the Atlantic coast of Brazil, where 4 species are known. Palms once classified as ''Microcoelum'' are herein included; the genus is closely related to '' Syagr ...
'' (Burret) Toledo - São Paulo
* ''
Lytocaryum insigne
''Lytocaryum'' is a monoecious genus of flowering plant in the palm family endemic to the Atlantic coast of Brazil, where 4 species are known. Palms once classified as ''Microcoelum'' are herein included; the genus is closely related to '' Syagr ...
'' (Rob.) Toledo - Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro
* ''
Lytocaryum itapebiense
''Lytocaryum'' is a monoecious genus of flowering plant in the arecaceae, palm family Endemism, endemic to the Atlantic coast of Brazil, where 4 species are known. Palms once classified as ''Microcoelum'' are herein included; the genus is closel ...
'' Noblick & Lorenzi - Bahia
* ''
Lytocaryum weddellianum
''Syagrus weddelliana'', also known as the miniature coconut palm or Weddell's palm, is a feather palm in the palm family. Description
The palm has a small stature, only growing to a height of . In rare cases, this palm can grow to , with a tr ...
'' (H.Wendl.) Toledo - Rio de Janeiro
Description
Both species are solitary trunked, closely ringed and retain leaf sheaths at the top of the stem. The trunks reach 15 cm in diameter to 4.5 m in height, but are usually just half that in cultivation. The spherical leaf crown consists of numerous pinnate leaves to 75 cm long on hairy, 30 cm petioles. The pinnae are 12 cm long, closely and regularly arranged along the rachis, in the same plane, green on top with gray, glaucous undersides.
The inflorescence is interfoliar and once branched, covered in brown hair, with unisexual flowers of both sexes. The female flowers are twice as big as the male's, both with three
sepals
A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...
and three petals. The fruit is globose to ellipsoidal, pink to red, with one seed.
Distribution and habitat
In southern Brazil, ''L. hoehnei'' is confined to a patch of mountainous forest between 800 and 975 m of elevation, in nearly year-round rain; there it is almost
extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
. ''L. weddellianum'' is found on Brazil's southeastern coast where development has also caused it to become endangered. It grows in rain forest to 900 m in elevation; both are restricted to filtered light and
humus
In classical soil science, humus is the dark organic matter in soil that is formed by the decomposition of plant and animal matter. It is a kind of soil organic matter. It is rich in nutrients and retains moisture in the soil. Humus is the Lati ...
-rich soil.
Cultivation and uses
''Lytocaryum weddellianum'' is a commonly potted plant throughout Europe which may save it from extinction, but ''L. hoehnei'' is essentially unknown in cultivation. The former demands shade and rich, friable, quickly draining soil with some acidity; the latter would likely require the same if cultivated.