''Phenakospermum'' is a monotypic genus in the family

Strelitziaceae The Strelitziaceae comprise a family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants, very similar in appearance and growth habit to members of the related families Heliconiaceae and Musaceae (banana family). The three genera with seven sp ...

. Only one species is recognized, ''Phenakospermum guyannense'', native to

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

, French Guiana and the eastern

Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...

basin. This plant grows to over 10 m in height but can be felled with a single blow with a machete. Although not as prized as the ornamental Traveler's palm (in the same family), ''P. guyannense'' is used locally in Brazil as a landscape element. The broad leaves are used to wrap fish in Benevides, Brazil, especially when ''Calathea'' leaves (Marantaceae) are not available. Previously, this genus was included in the now exclusively old world genus ''

Ravenala ''Ravenala'' is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants. Classically, the genus was considered to include a single species, ''Ravenala madagascariensis'', commonly known as the traveller's tree, traveller's palm or East-West palm, from Mada ...

''.

References

* * {{Taxonbar, from1=Q311959, from2=Q3700839 Monotypic Zingiberales genera Strelitziaceae Trees of Bolivia Trees of Suriname Trees of Guyana Trees of Peru Trees of Brazil Trees of Colombia Trees of Ecuador Trees of Venezuela Trees of French Guiana Taxa named by Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel