Palma de pantano (Prestoea schultzeana)

Description

Stems cespitose, and rarely solitary, generally with 1 stem developed and basal shoots, but sometimes with to 10 stems, erect or leaning, 0.2-5 m tall, 3-5.5 cm in diam., brown, often covered with persistent leaf bases, with a 30-70 cm high cone of roots visible at base. Leaves 4-10, spreading; sheath closed for about ½ its length and not forming a crownshaft, persistent on the stem, 37-50 cm long including a short ligule, with scattered, brown, flat scales; petiole 0.8-1.6 m long, densely whitish brown tomentose, glabrescent; rachis 1.2-2.2 m long, ridged adaxially, rounded abaxially, tomentose like petiole abaxially, glabrescent; pinnae (21-) 33-38 per side, regularly spaced and horizontally spreading in the same plane, subopposite, linearlanceolate with an abruptly narrowed, about 6 cm long filiform apex, with midvein prominent adaxially and abaxially, several lateral veins present, lacking ramenta abaxially; basal pinna (23- ) 32-47 x 0.3-1.5 cm; middle pinnae (30-) 46-58 (-81) x 2-4.4 (-6) cm; apical pinna 10-2 1 (-40) x 0.5-2 cm. Inflorescences corymbose, interfoliar, arching; peduncle 45-80 cm long, 0.8-2 cm in diam., almost terete, with flattened branched, whitish or brownish hairs; prophyll 18- 37 cm long, 2 cm diam., flattened; peduncular bract 0.6-1.2 m long including a 12-14 cm long umbo, tubular, persistent, inserted 6-12 cm above insertion of prophyll; rachis 4-30 cm long, with hairs like those of peduncle; rachillae 5-13, spirally arranged, slightly swollen at base, proximal ones 20-75 cm long, distal ones 16-60 cm long, 1.5-3.5 mm in diam. in flower, thickening to 2-3.5 mm in fruit, white at anthesis, becoming red in fruit, densely covered with whitish, branched, erect or flexuous hairs; flowers in triads proximally, paired or solitary staminate distally, white at anthesis; triad bracteole apiculate; first flower bracteole apiculate, second and third flower bracteoles prominent, ± equal, strongly apiculale 10 almost deltate, 0.5 mm high; staminate flowers 3-5 mm long; sepals deltate, acute at the apex, 1.5-1.7 mm long, keeled, minutely ciliate; petals lanceolate-ovate, 3-5 mm long, with white hairs abaxially; filaments 2-3 cm long, lanceolate, flattened, adnate proximally to petals; anthers 2-2.5 mm long; pistillode 3-3.5 mm long, deeply trifid at apex ; pistillate flowers 2-4 mm long; sepals very widely ovate, 2-3 mm long, ciliate, with whitish hairs abaxially; petals widely ovate, 3.5 mm long, glabrous, minutely ciliate; staminodes digitate or sometimes absent; fruits globose, 0.7- 1 cm in diam., the stigmatic remains subapical to lateral; epicarp black at maturity, minutely tuberculate; seeds globose, 5-7 mm in diam.; endosperm slightly ruminate; eophyll pinnate with elongate rachis. (Gloria Galeano and A. Henderson)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.This species is rather homogeneous, but some specimens from the periphery of the range are somewhat different. Gentry et al. 29157 has scarcely pilose staminate and pistillate flowers; D. Smith 2016 and D. Smith 3985 are reported to come from non-inundated, limestone soils at higher elevations; and Vásquez et al. 12693 has crustose hairs on the rachillae and is also reported from non-inundated soils. (Gloria Galeano and A. Henderson)/Palmweb.