Syagrus
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.jpg/240px-Parque_Nacional_El_Palmar_(5).jpg) Syagrus yatay in Parque Nacional El Palmar, Argentina
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Syagrus is a genus of 30 to 42 species of Arecaceae (palms), native to South America, with one species endemic to the Lesser Antilles. The genus is closely related to the Cocos, or coconut genus, and many Syagrus species produce edible seeds similar to the coconut.
[edit] Description
Palms in this group have solitary trunks, clusters, and subterranean stems. Crownshafts are not present in the genus; inflorescences emerge from the leaf crown. Leaves are pinnate, often recurved, from 2 to 5 m. They are monoecious, producing white or off-white unisexual flowers of both sexes. The woody bract is spoon or boat-shaped.
- Species
- Syagrus amara
- Syagrus bottryophora
- Syagrus coronata - Licuri Palm
- Syagrus romanzoffiana - Queen Palm
- Syagrus schizophylla - Arikury Palm
- Syagrus yatay - Yatay Palm
[edit] Ecology
S. coronata and S. yatay nuts are (or were) the favored food of Lear's Macaw and the Glaucous Macaw, respectively, whose bill sizes and shapes were particularly adapted to crack them. The destruction of most of the Yatay Palm stands in the Paraná River area is considered a key factor in the extinction of the Glaucous Macaw (del Hoyo et al. 1997).
Syagrus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Batrachedra nuciferae (recorded on S. coronae), Hypercompe cunigunda (feeds exclusively on S. romanzoffiana) and Paysandisia archon (recorded on S. romanzoffiana).
[edit] References
- ^ Martius, Palmarum Familia 18. 1824. Type S. cocoides
- Jones, D. L. (2000). Palms in Australia. Reed Books.
- del Hoyo, J. et al., eds. (1997). Handbook of the Birds of the World 4: 419. Lynx Edicions.
