Campecarpus
Encyclopedia
Campecarpus is a monotypic
genus
of flowering plant
in the palm
family native to New Caledonia
. The sole species
Campecarpus fulcitus is closely related to the Cyphophoenix
and Veillonia
palms with which it shares the island chain. The genus name is a combination of the Greek
words for "curved" and "fruit", and the epithet is Latin
for "propped up", an allusion to the stilt roots.
s. Prominently ringed by scars, the trunks are topped off by a tall green to white crownshaft
with a bulging base. The leaves
are pinnate up to 3 m long with 1 m long, single-fold, dark green leaflets; rachis and petiole scaly to tomentose.
The inflorescence
is interfoliar, once or twice branched and hairy. The male and female flowers are borne in triads at the base of the rachilla and are solitary or in pairs towards the end. The fruit
is slightly ovoid, epicarp smooth, mesocarp fleshy and fibrous, with one similarly shaped seed
.
rocks.
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
in the palm
Arecaceae
Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...
family native to New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
. The sole species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
Campecarpus fulcitus is closely related to the Cyphophoenix
Cyphophoenix
Cyphophoenix is a genus of flowering plant in the Arecaceae family.It contains the following species, among others:* Cyphophoenix elegans* Cyphophoenix nucele...
and Veillonia
Veillonia
Veillonia is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family native to New Caledonia. Its leaves resemble the Campecarpus and Cyphokentia palms, though its closest relative is Burretiokentia, distinguished by small differences in flower form...
palms with which it shares the island chain. The genus name is a combination of the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
words for "curved" and "fruit", and the epithet is Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
for "propped up", an allusion to the stilt roots.
Description
The trunk is solitary to 15 m in height, at 13 cm wide, supported by a nearly 2 m tall mass of stilt rootRoot
In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial or aerating . Furthermore, a stem normally occurring below ground is not exceptional either...
s. Prominently ringed by scars, the trunks are topped off by a tall green to white crownshaft
Crownshaft
An elongated circumferential leaf base formation present on some species of palm is called a crownshaft.The leaf bases of some pinnate leaved palms form a sheath at the top of the trunk surrounding the bud where all the subsequent leaves are formed.The crownshaft...
with a bulging base. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are pinnate up to 3 m long with 1 m long, single-fold, dark green leaflets; rachis and petiole scaly to tomentose.
The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is interfoliar, once or twice branched and hairy. The male and female flowers are borne in triads at the base of the rachilla and are solitary or in pairs towards the end. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is slightly ovoid, epicarp smooth, mesocarp fleshy and fibrous, with one similarly shaped seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
.
Distribution and habitat
It is restricted to New Caledonia's southern end where it grows in low, wet, mountainous rain forest and on serpentiniteSerpentinite
Serpentinite is a rock composed of one or more serpentine group minerals. Minerals in this group are formed by serpentinization, a hydration and metamorphic transformation of ultramafic rock from the Earth's mantle...
rocks.