Eremospatha is a genus of climbing in the arecaceae family found in tropical Africa.[ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families] These are uncommon in cultivation and poorly understood by taxonomists. Closely related to Laccosperma, they are differentiated by the near complete absence of bracts and bracteoles.[Uhl, Natalie W. and Dransfield, John (1987) Genera Palmarum - A classification of palms based on the work of Harold E. Moore. Lawrence, Kansas: Allen Press. / ] The name is from Greek language meaning 'without a spathe'.
Description
The slender, high-climbing trunks are naturally clustering and can reach up to in length. The
pinnate leaves range from to on short, armed petioles; the rachis, leaf margins and cirri are also armed with spines. They are hermaphroditic, with both male and female reproductive organs present in each
flower. The pale blooms are fragrant and produce a red to brown, scaly
fruit, each containing one to three
.
[Riffle, Robert L. and Craft, Paul (2003) An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms. Portland: Timber Press. / ]
Distribution and habitat
These palms are native to the
rain forest of west Africa, the
Congo Basin, and to
Tanzania where they grow in
swamps and alongside rivers.
Species
Accepted species:
[Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J. (2005). World Checklist of Palms: 1-223. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.]
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Eremospatha barendii Sunderl. - Cameroon
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Eremospatha cabrae (De Wild. & T.Durand) De Wild. - Zaire, Congo-Brazzaville, Cabinda, Gabon, Central African Republic
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Eremospatha cuspidata (G.Mann & H.Wendl.) H.Wendl. - Zaire, Congo-Brazzaville, Cabinda, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Central African Republic, Angola, Zambia
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Eremospatha dransfieldii Sunderl. - Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana
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Eremospatha haullevilleana De Wild. - Cameroon, Zaire, Congo-Brazzaville, Cabinda, Gabon, Central African Republic, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania
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Eremospatha hookeri (G.Mann & H.Wendl.) H.Wendl. - Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea
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Eremospatha laurentii De Wild. - Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Cameroon, Zaire, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea
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Eremospatha macrocarpa Schaedtler - Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone
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Eremospatha quinquecostulata Odoardo Beccari - Nigeria, Cameroon
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Eremospatha tessmanniana Becc. - Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea
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Eremospatha wendlandiana Dammer ex Becc. - Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Cabinda
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