Chamaedorea seifrizii
|
Chamaedorea seifrizii stems with fruit |
|
|
|
Chamaedorea seifrizii leaves with fruit |
|
Chamaedorea seifrizii leaflets |
|
Chamaedorea seifrizii apical leaflets. Photograph courtesy of Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, Guide to Palms http://palmguide.org/index.php |
|
Chamaedorea seifrizii immature fruit. Photograph courtesy of Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, Guide to Palms http://palmguide.org/index.php |
|
Chamaedorea seifrizii unripe fruits. Photograph courtesy of Mariana P. Beckman, DPI |
|
Chamaedorea seifrizii infructescence |
Common name
bamboo palm, reed palm
Description
Stems: Clustering, to 3 m tall and 1-2 cm in diameter, with conspicuous leafleaf:
in palms -- the leaf blade (which is usually divided into leaflets or leaf segments), the petiole (or leaf stalk) and the sheath (which forms the attachment of the leaf to the stem)
scars, growing in dense clumps. Leaves: Pinnatepinnate:
like a feather; palms with pinnate leaves usually have compound leaflets attached to a rachis, although a pinnate leaf may be entire with pinnate veins (e.g., <em>Chamaedorea metallica</em>)
, reduplicatereduplicate:
Most palm leaflets or leaf segments are obviously folded. If the folds create an upside-down V-shape, with the margins lower than the midrib (so that rain might "run off the roof"), the folding is reduplicate.
, to 60 cm long, with variably shaped (more or less linearlinear:
term to describe leaves and leaflets that are narrow with nearly parallel margins; like a line
to lanceolatelanceolate:
term to describe leaves and leaflets that are longer than wide and widest below the mid-point; lance-shaped
or sigmoidsigmoid:
resembling the Greek letter sigma or the Latin letter "s"; s-shaped
) leaflets evenly spaced along the rachisrachis:
an extension of the petiole through the blade of a pinnate leaf to which leaflets are attached
and spreading in a single plane. Upper and lower leaflet surfaces are glossy green, without spines or obvious tomentumtomentum:
a covering of closely matted or fine hairs on plant leaves
; prominent midrib and secondary veins. Flowers and fruits: Yellow male and female flowers are borne on different plants. Inflorescences with staminatestaminate:
a flower bearing stamens but no pistils; a “male” flower
flowers grow to 15 cm long, branched to one order, with up to 12 branches. Inflorescences with pistillatepistillate:
a flower bearing a pistil but no stamens; a “female” flower
flowers grow to 10 cm long, branched to one order, with up to 6 branches, turning orange when fruit ripens. The spherical fruits, 6-8 mm in diameter, are black when ripe.
Diagnostic features
Erect, clustering palm in dense clumps with black fruit and stems with widely-spaced leafleaf:
in palms -- the leaf blade (which is usually divided into leaflets or leaf segments), the petiole (or leaf stalk) and the sheath (which forms the attachment of the leaf to the stem)
scar rings
May be confused with
Chamaedorea microspadix, but C. seifrizii has denser clumps of stems and black fruit.
Distribution
Native to Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras
Additional comments
Commonly cultivated in Hawaii, California, and Florida
The Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council lists this species as a Category II invasive: exotic plants that show signs of increasing in abundance, but that have not altered native plant communities. Click here for more details.
Scientific name
Chamaedorea seifrizii Burret
Family
Arecaceae/Palmae
Synonyms
Chamaedorea erumpens H. E. Moore
