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<taxonx xmlns:dc="http://digir.net/schema/conceptual/darwin/core/2.0" xmlns:mods="http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">

<taxonxHeader>

<mods:mods>

<mods:titleInfo><mods:title>Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms</mods:title></mods:titleInfo>

<mods:name>

<mods:namePart type="family">Dransfield</mods:namePart>

<mods:namePart type="given">J.</mods:namePart>

<mods:namePart type="family">Uhl</mods:namePart>

<mods:namePart type="given">N.</mods:namePart>

<mods:namePart type="family">Asmussen</mods:namePart>

<mods:namePart type="given">C.</mods:namePart>

<mods:namePart type="family">Baker</mods:namePart>

<mods:namePart type="given">W.J.</mods:namePart>

<mods:namePart type="family">Harley</mods:namePart>

<mods:namePart type="given">M.</mods:namePart>

<mods:namePart type="family">Lewis</mods:namePart>

<mods:namePart type="given">C.</mods:namePart>

</mods:name>

<mods:originInfo>

<mods:dateIssued>2008</mods:dateIssued><mods:publisher>Kew Publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew</mods:publisher></mods:originInfo>

</mods:mods>

</taxonxHeader>

<taxonxBody>

<treatment rank="genus">

<div type="diagnosis"><p>Small to moderate, solitary or clustering pinnate-leaved palm from western New Guinea, with crownshaft, acute leaflets and inflorescence with the peduncular bract deciduous but the prophyll persistent.</p></div>

<nomenclature>

<name>Dransfieldia</name>

<author>W.J. Baker and Zona</author> 

<citation>Syst. Bot. 31: 61 (2006).</citation>

<type>Type; Dransfieldia micrantha; (Becc.) W.J. Baker and Zona</type>

<type_loc></type_loc>

</nomenclature>

<div type="etymology"><p>Honours John Dransfield, co-author of Genera Palmarum.</p></div>

<div type="description"><p>Small to moderate, clustering or solitary, unarmed, pleonanthic, monoecious, understory tree palm. Stem erect, slender, ringed with prominent leaf scars. Leaves pinnate, few in the crown; sheath strictly tubular, forming a well-defined crownshaft, glabrous adaxially, abaxially with sparse to dense indumentum of brown-black irregular scales of various sizes and brown to white, matted, fibrous scales; petiole present, slender, adaxially channelled, abaxially rounded, covered with indumentum as on the leaf sheath; rachis long, slender, adaxially forming a ridge, abaxially rounded, with indumentum as on the petiole; leaflets subopposite to alternate, arranged regularly, in one plane, single-fold, spreading, appearing corrugated due to the presence of conspicuous raised ridges on the adaxial surface of major veins, linear to narrowly elliptic, attenuating to a narrowly acute apex, sometimes with a few, widely separated, shallow indentations to one side of the apex, distal leaflets with apex acute and usually notched, apical leaflet pair not united at the base, with brown medifixed ramenta scattered on the abaxial surface of major veins and more numerous near the leaflet bases, with scales as on the rachis on both surfaces of leaflet base, minute white scales sparsely distributed persistent, though sometimes tattering or caducous, splitting apically or subapically by emerging inflorescence; peduncular bracts few, first peduncular bract similar to prophyll, but lacking keels, tubular, attached midway up peduncle, exserted from prophyll and enclosing inflorescence prior to expansion, splitting abaxially and distally on inflorescence expansion, typically caducous, though sometimes persistent and tattering, other peduncular bracts inconspicuous, triangular, incomplete; rachis shorter than peduncle, angled, tapering; rachis bracts low, rounded; primary branches several, spirally arranged; rachillae fleshy, tapering, usually bearing spirally arranged triads of flowers throughout, rarely pistillate flowers absent from triads throughout inflorescence; rachilla bracts inconspicuous; floral bracteoles low, rounded or truncate. Staminate flowers borne laterally toward the upper side of the pistillate flower in rounded indentations in the rachillae, symmetrical, bullet-shaped in bud, glabrous or with scattered scales as inflorescence; sepals 3, distinct, strongly imbricate, orbicular, spathulate, coriaceous, thickened abaxially, thinning towards margin, margins minutely ciliate; corolla united basally, corolla lobes 3, valvate, ovate, indurated; stamens numerous, up to 19, filaments awl-shaped, outer whorl irregularly inflexed in bud and basally adnate to the petals, inner whorl erect in bud, anthers ellipsoidal, dorsifixed, versatile, connective dark, dehiscence latrorse; pistillode trilobed or papilla-like. Pollen ellipsoidal slightly asymmetric, occasionally pyriform; aperture a distal sulcus; ectexine tectate, finely perforate-rugulate, aperture margin similar; infratectum columellate; longest axis ranging from 30–40 µm [1/1]. Pistillate flowers symmetrical, subglobose, glabrous or with scattered scales as inflorescence; sepals 3, distinct, strongly imbricate, closely resembling staminate sepals; petals 3, strongly imbricate, resembling sepals, but thinner and with acute apex; staminodes 3–4, shortly joined basally, truncate; gynoecium ovoid, symmetrical, pseudomonomerous, unilocular, uniovulate, stigmas 3, ovule located near base of gynoecium, laterally attached, ?campylotropous. Fruit ellipsoidal, stigmatic remains apical, perianth persistent and clasping; epicarp thin, smooth, mesocarp fibrous, endocarp circular in cross-section, closely adpressed to seed, comprising two layers of closely adhering fibres. Seed ellipsoidal with flattened base, surface smooth, hilum basal, raphe lateral, endosperm deeply ruminate, embryo basal. Germination adjacent ligular, eophyll bifid. Cytology not studied.</p></div>

<div type="distribution"><p>Restricted to far western Papua province in Indonesian New Guinea. Known from Waigeo Island in the Raja Ampat Archipelago, the Kepala Burung (Sorong and Bintuni Bay), the lower slopes of the Wondiwoi Mountains and the vicinity of Etna Bay. </p></div>

<div type="anatomy"><p>Not studied. </p></div>

<div type="relationships"><p>The relationships of Dransfieldia remain uncertain. Dransfieldia has been resolved as sister to Linospadix and Laccospadix of the Linospadicinae, forming a clade that in turn is sister to Heterospathe, but these relationship have low bootstrap support (Asmussen et al. 2006). </p></div>

<div type="uses"><p>Stems used for harpoons. Leaves used for thatch. Unspecified parts used for sewing thatch. The species is grown as an ornamental in the USA and Australia, but is not yet widely available in the horticultural trade. </p></div>

<div type="taxonomic accounts"><p>Baker et al. (2006).</p></div>

<div type="fossil record"><p>No generic records found.</p></div>

<div type="discussion"><p>The colourful new leaves and inflorescences of this palm, along with its petite habit, make it highly desirable among palm collectors (Migliaccio 2001).</p></div>

<div type="vernacular"><p>Ititohoho (Jamur), Kapis (Biak-Raja Ampat) and Tama’e (Wondama). </p></div>

<div type="biology_ecology"><p>Grows in lowland forests and forest on slopes and ridge tops, 10–180 m elevation. Palm growers have reported that the single species of this genus occurs in Papua New Guinea (Migliaccio 2001). We have seen no confirmation of this, and suspect that the origin of the seed source has been misinterpreted. </p></div>

</treatment>

</taxonxBody>

</taxonx>