Acoelorrhaphe

Read about Acoelorrhaphe in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Acoelorrhaphe (name of uncertain origin). Palmaceae, tribe Corypheae. A genus of 2 species of American palms allied to Brahea and distinguished from it by technical characters of the albumen. A. Wrightii, Wendl., a graceful, slender palm with almost orbicular-bladed lvs.: trunk thin, scarcely exceeding 4—7 ft.: lvs. long-petioled, made up of about 50 narrow segms., all united at the base. Cuba and Honduras. —Has been cult, outdoors at the botanic gardens at Buitenzorg and Calcutta and in extreme S. Fla. Unique but little known outside of botanic gardens. Grows with great vigor in rich moist soil. N. Taylor. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

? Acoelorrhaphe wrightii
Stand of fruiting specimens
Plant Info
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Arecales Family: Arecaceae Genus: Acoelorrhaphe H.L.Wendl. Species: A. wrightii
Binomial name
Acoelorrhaphe wrightii (Griseb. & H.L.Wendl.) H.L.Wendl. ex Becc.

Acoelorrhaphe is a genus of palms, comprising the single species Acoelorrhaphe wrightii (Paurotis palm, also known as the Everglades palm, Madiera palm and Silver saw palmetto).

It is native to Central America, southeastern Mexico, the West Indies, the Bahamas, and extreme southern Florida where it grows in swamps or periodically flooded forests. It is a small to moderately tall palm that grows in clusters to 5-7 m, rarely 9 m tall, with slender stems less than 15 cm diameter. The leaves are palmate (fan-shaped), with segments joined to each other for about half of their length, and are 1–2 m wide, light-green above, and silver underneath. The leaf petiole is 1–1.2 m long, and has orange, curved, sharp teeth along the edges. The flowers are minute, inconspicuous and greenish, with 6 stamens. The trunk is covered with fibrous matting. The fruit is pea-sized, starting orange and turning to black at maturity.

The genus name is often cited as Acoelorraphe, a grammatical error to be corrected under the provisions of the ICBN. The genus name is a combination of three Greek words meaning a- 'without', koilos 'hollow', and rhaphis 'needle', an allusion to the form of the fruit. The species is named after the American botanist Charles Henry Wright.

Cultivation and uses

Cultivated specimen in a greenhouse at Missouri Botanical Garden

The Paurotis palm was formerly plentiful in Florida, but many plants were taken for the nursery trade. The palm is now protected in the wild by Florida law. Trees propagated from seed or by sawing apart the base of a cluster are available in nurseries. It is hardy in most of the Florida peninsula, and salt-tolerant.

References

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  Petiole spines

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  Fruit