Description
Genus Phoenix
Stems solitary or clustered, erect
or ascending
[subterranean
], slender to massive, often clothed in old leaf bases
. Leaves: sheath
fibers soft; petiole
not split at base, armed
, base not split, not forming crownshaft
; blade
pinnate; plication
induplicate
; segments lanceolate, in 1 or more planes
; apices acute; basal segments modified into stout spines. Inflorescences axillary
within crown of leaves, paniculate
, ascending, much shorter than leaves, with 1 order
of branching, alike in staminate
and pistillate
plants
; prophyll often caducous
, conspicuous
, becoming boat-shaped
, short; peduncular bracts absent; rachillae glabrous
. Staminate flowers
borne singly along rachillae; calyx cupulate
, 3-lobed; petals 3, free
, valvate
; stamens 6, free; pistillode
inconspicuous or absent. Pistillate flowers borne singly on rachillae; calyx cupulate, 3-lobed; petals 3, imbricate, free; staminodial ring
cupulate or deeply 6-lobed; pistils 3 (only 1 developing), distinct
; stigmas small. Fruits drupes, berrylike, fleshy
; exocarp
blackish brown, smooth
; mesocarp
fleshy or fibrous
; endocarp papery
. Seeds 1, elongate
; endosperm homogeneous
; embryo lateral
[basal]; eophyll
undivided, lanceolate. xn = 18.
Species 137: introduced
; widespread, native
to Eastern Hemisphere, including the Canary and Cape
Verde iIslands, s Europe, Africa (including Madagascar), s Asia, and Philippines.
Several species of Phoenix are cultivated as ornamentals
in Florida and California, although identification can be difficult since because the species are dioecious and apparently hybridize
with great ease. Phoenix dactylifera Linnaeus, the date palm, is grown as a commercial
crop
in southern California and Arizona and as an ornamental palm in Florida, but it seems noninvasive. It can be recognized by its massive trunk
(eventually bearing basal offshoots) and its stiff, ascending, glaucous leaves. In Florida, P. roebelenii O'Brien (pygmy date palm), with its solitary trunk less than 15 cm in diam., is also cultivated as an ornamental although it does not seem to escape
. Other species of Phoenix are occasionally cultivated in warm parts of the United
States. Elements
of cultivated species of Phoenix entering the flora
may be of uncertain parentage.
Two species, Phoenix canariensis and P. reclinata, have escaped and are sporadically naturalized
in southern Florida and, to a much lesser extent, in California. Phoenix dactylifera is reportedly naturalized in California (E. McClintock 1993), but I have seen no specimens.[1]
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
()
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Plantae
()
- Haeckel, 1866
- Plants
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
()
- Cavalier-Smith, 1981
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
()
- Sinnott, 1935 ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Vascular Plants
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
()
- (Auct.) Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Infraphylum:
Angiospermae
()
- Auct.
- Class:
Magnoliopsida
()
- Brongniart, 1843
- Dicotyledons
- Subclass:
Arecidae
()
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Superorder:
Arecanae
()
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Order:
Arecales
()
- Bromhead, 1840
- Family:
Palmae
()
- A.L. de Jussieu, 1789, nom. cons., nom. alt.
- Subfamily:
Coryphoideae
()
- Tribe:
Phoeniceae
()
- Genus:
Phoenix
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1753
- Date palm, palmier dattier [derivation uncertain, perhaps for the Phoenicians, known for a dye that was similar in color to ripening dates; name used by Theophrastus for the date palm]
- Specific epithet:
atlantica
- A.Chev.
- Botanical name: - Phoenix atlantica A.Chev.
- Specific epithet:
atlantica
- A.Chev.
- Genus:
Phoenix
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1753
- Date palm, palmier dattier [derivation uncertain, perhaps for the Phoenicians, known for a dye that was similar in color to ripening dates; name used by Theophrastus for the date palm]
- Tribe:
Phoeniceae
()
- Subfamily:
Coryphoideae
()
- Family:
Palmae
()
- A.L. de Jussieu, 1789, nom. cons., nom. alt.
- Order:
Arecales
()
- Bromhead, 1840
- Superorder:
Arecanae
()
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Subclass:
Arecidae
()
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Class:
Magnoliopsida
()
- Brongniart, 1843
- Dicotyledons
- Infraphylum:
Angiospermae
()
- Auct.
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
()
- (Auct.) Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
()
- Sinnott, 1935 ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Vascular Plants
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
()
- Cavalier-Smith, 1981
- Kingdom:
Plantae
()
- Haeckel, 1866
- Plants
Notes
Name
Status: Accepted Name
.
Last scrutiny: 11-Nov-2003
Similar Species
Members of the genus Phoenix
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 17 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:
P. acaulis (Dwarf Date Palm) · P. canariensis (Canary Date Palm) · P. dactylifera (Date Palm) · P. dactylifera var. Barhi (Barhi Date) · P. dactylifera 'Deglet Noor' (Date Palm) · P. dactylifera 'Medjool' (Date Palm) · P. loureirii (Loureir's Date Palm) · P. loureirii var. humilis (Loureiros Date Palm) · P. loureiroi (Loureiro´s Palm) · P. loureiroi var. humilis (Loureiro´s Dwarf Palm) · P. paludosa (Mangrove Date Palm) · P. pusilla (Ceylon Date Palm) · P. reclinata (African Wild Date) · P. roebelenii (Pigmy Date Palm) · P. rupicola (Cliff Date Palm) · P. sylvestris (India Date Palm) · P. theophrasti (Theophrastus's Date Palm)
More Info
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Further Reading
- Austin, D. F. 1978. Exotic plants and their effects in southeastern Florida. Environm. Conservation 5: 25--34.
- Barrow, S. C. 1998. A monograph of Phoenix L. (Palmae: Coryphoideae). Kew Bull. 53: 513--545.
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed March 27, 2012.
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 10513513
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Kew-152650
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 15056226
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 2987563
Footnotes
- Dachel Adanson, Elate Linnaeus, Palma Miller "Phoenix". in Flora of North America Vol. 22 Page 110. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]