Chuniophoeniceae
| Chuniophoeniceae | |
|---|---|
| |
| Chuniophoenix nana in cultivation at Garfield Park Conservatory | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Arecales |
| Family: | Arecaceae |
| Subfamily: | Coryphoideae |
| Tribe: | Chuniophoeniceae J.Dransf., N.W.Uhl, C. Asmussen, W.J. Baker, M.M. Harley & C.E. Lewis |
| Type genus | |
| Chuniophoenix | |
| Genera | |
|
Chuniophoenix Burret | |
Chuniophoeniceae is a tribe of palms in subfamily Coryphoideae of plant family Arecaceae.[1][2] The four genera within the tribe are morphologically dissimilar and do not have overlapping distributions. Three of the genera are monotypic, while the fourth genus (Chuniophoenix) has three species.[3][4]
Description
Outwardly, the palms in the four genera of Chuniophoeniceae appear quite different. Chuniophoenix are small palms from the forest understory with clustered stems; Kerriodoxa is a squat, single-stemmed rainforest palm; Nannorrhops is a sprawling desert palm with branching stems; and Tahina is a massive solitary palm from exposed limestone outcrops.[3][5][4][6] They differ significantly in their flowering strategies, too. Chuniophoenix species flower regularly throughout their lives (pleonanthic) and produce hermaphroditic flowers (rarely single gender); Kerriodoxa are also pleonanthic, but are always dioecious; Nannorrhops stems die after flowering (hapaxanthic), though the much-branched plant survives; Tahina produces a massive terminal inflorescence and dies after fruiting. All Chuniophoeniceae have palmate leaves with induplicate folds and tubular bracts partially enclosing the flowers.[3][4][5][6]
Taxonomy
Chuniophoeniceae is one of eight tribes in subfamily Coryphoideae.[7] The tribe is monophyletic and closely related to tribes Caryoteae, Corypheae and Borasseae, forming the syncarpous clade.[3][7][6][8] In a previous classification, prior to the discovery of Tahina, the three other genera were placed in tribe Corypheae, subtribe Coryphinae, together with the genus Corypha.[9] Coincidentally, Corypha and Tahina both share the strategy of producing a massive display of flowers only once before dying.[6]
The four genera have widely disjunct distributions. Chuniophoenix (3 spp.) is found in southern China and Vietnam; Kerriodoxa (1 sp., K. elegans) is restricted to peninsular Thailand; Nannorrhops (1 sp., N. ritchiana) is found in parts of Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the southeastern Arabian Peninsula; while Tahina (1 sp., T. spectabilis) is endemic to a small area of northwestern Madagascar.[3]
Genera
| Image | Genus | Living Species |
|---|---|---|
 |
Chuniophoenix Burret, 1937 |
|
 |
Kerriodoxa J.Dransf., 1983 |
|
 |
Nannorrhops H.Wendl., 1879 |
|
 |
Tahina J.Dransf. & Rakotoarinivo, 2008 |
|
Gallery
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Foliage of Chuniophoenix nana -
Distinctive white undersides to the leaves of Kerriodoxa elegans -
Fruits of Kerriodoxa elegans -
Silvery-blue foliage of Nannorrhops ritchiana -
Seedlings of Tahina spectabilis in cultivation
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