Guihaia argyrata (S.K.Lee & F.N.Wei) S.K.Lee, F.N.Wei & J.Dransf., Principes 29: 9 (1985)

Primary tabs

https://media.e-taxonomy.eu/palmae/photos/palm_tc_93398_5.jpg

Content

Distribution

Map uses TDWG level 3 distributions (https://github.com/tdwg/wgsrpd)
China Southeast present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)A
Vietnam present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)A

Biology And Ecology

  • Flowers open towards the end of May until June. Fruit ripens at the end of October to November. (Dransfield, J. 1985: Guihaia, a New Coryphoid Genus from China and Vietnam)B

Description

  • Low clustering fan palm to ca. 1 m tall; stem decumbent or erect, very short, ca. 3-5 cm diam., sometimes up to 0.5 m tall, with very close leaf scars, the stem usually completely obscured by the old leaf sheaths. Leaves several in crown, spreading; sheath tubular at first, expanding into very sharp needle-like, erect dark brown fibers to ca. 14 cm long, ca. 1 mm wide; petiole up to ca. 1 m long, usually less, much shorter in exposed individuals, ca. 11 mm wide near the base, very slightly narrowed distally, ± hemispherical in cross section, bearing caducous silky hairs when young; adaxial hastula ca. 1 x 1 cm, fringed with hairs when young; lamina ca. 20-60 cm diam. in mid-line, divided to ca. 3/4 to 4/5 into up to ca. 26 single-fold (rarely two-fold) reduplicate segments, up to ca. 2.5 cm wide, the outermost segments very narrow, the segment tips very briefly bifid, adaxial surface dark green, abaxial surface silvery grey hairy. Inflorescences 30-80 cm long, with 2-5 partial inflorescences branching to the 4th order; rachillae very slender, the pistillate to 50 x 0.5 mm, the staminate usually shorter and even more slender. Staminate flower in bud ca. 1.5 mm long or less; sepals ca. 1 x 0.8 mm; corolla ca. 1.2 mm long, the lobes ca. 0.8 mm wide; anthers ca. 0.3 mm diam. Pistillate flower ca. 1.5 mm long; sepals ca. 1 x 0.8 mm; corolla ca. 1.2 mm, the lobes ca. 1 mm wide; staminodes minute, the empty anthers ca. 0.2 mm long; carpels ca. 0.5 x 0.4 mm. Mature fruit subglobose up to ca. 6 mm diam.; epicarp blue-black, waxy; seed ca. 4-5 mm diam. (Dransfield, J. 1985: Guihaia, a New Coryphoid Genus from China and Vietnam)B

Materials Examined

  • CHINA. Guangxi: Guilin, Wei Fa-nan 409 (18K), 1513 (18K), 1524 (18K), Chen San-yang 18869, 18870 (HITBC); Lungzhou (Longzhou), Morse 195 (K); Tianyang, Li Chung-ti 601840 (KUN); Rongan (Ch'ang An), Steward & Cheo 1196 (A, P); Yanshuo, Chen Zhao-zhou 53103 (18K), Wei Fa-nan 937 (holotype 18K); Jingxi, Chang Chao-chien 4479 (IBK), Chung Chihsing 84063 (IBK), 82372 (IBK). Guangdong: Yinde, Wei Chao-ftn 123182 (IBSC). (Dransfield, J. 1985: Guihaia, a New Coryphoid Genus from China and Vietnam)B

Bibliography

    A. World Checklist of Arecaceae
    B. Dransfield, J. 1985: Guihaia, a New Coryphoid Genus from China and Vietnam