Eleiodoxa
Encyclopedia
Eleiodoxa is a monotypic
genus
of flowering plant
in the palm
family found in Southeast Asia
. The only species
, Eleiodoxa conferta, is a dioecious
, swamp
-dwelling plant, commonly called kelumi or asam paya. While as many as five species have been described, four are usually recognized as synonyms of the lectotype E. conferta. The genus is named from two Greek
words meaning "water" and "glory" and the species name is Latin
for "congested", an allusion to the flower spike.
s in the family, individual trunks are determinate and die after flowering. A mature leaf
reaches 3.5 m in length on 3 m petioles
which are armed with whorls of 5 - 7 cm long spines. The green to deep green pinnae are regularly arranged along the rachis, 1.5 m in length, and toothed along the margins. The inflorescence
emerges at ground level, bearing either male or female flowers, in the latter forming scaly, red fruit
with one or occasionally two seed
s.
, Malaysia, Borneo
and Sumatra
in peat swamp forest
facies
and fresh water swamps they are highly gregarious, forming large colonies.
and used as a substitute for tamarind
or made into sweetmeat.
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 found in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
. The only 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...
, Eleiodoxa conferta, is a dioecious
Dioecious
Dioecy is the property of a group of biological organisms that have males and females, but not members that have organs of both sexes at the same time. I.e., those whose individual members can usually produce only one type of gamete; each individual organism is thus distinctly female or male...
, swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
-dwelling plant, commonly called kelumi or asam paya. While as many as five species have been described, four are usually recognized as synonyms of the lectotype E. conferta. The genus is named from two 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 meaning "water" and "glory" and the species name 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 "congested", an allusion to the flower spike.
Description
While remaining underground, the trunks of these palms are clustering and form dense thickets. As one of the few hapaxanthHapaxanth
A hapaxanth is a term used for a plant species whose individuals flowers only once in their lifetime and die subsequently. Other terms with the same meaning are semelparous and monocarpic....
s in the family, individual trunks are determinate and die after flowering. A mature leaf
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....
reaches 3.5 m in length on 3 m petioles
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
which are armed with whorls of 5 - 7 cm long spines. The green to deep green pinnae are regularly arranged along the rachis, 1.5 m in length, and toothed along the margins. 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...
emerges at ground level, bearing either male or female flowers, in the latter forming scaly, red 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,...
with one or occasionally two 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...
s.
Distribution and habitat
Found in tropical ThailandThailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Malaysia, Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
and Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
in peat swamp forest
Peat swamp forest
Peat swamp forests are tropical moist forests where waterlogged soils prevent dead leaves and wood from fully decomposing, which over time creates a thick layer of acidic peat...
facies
Facies
In geology, facies are a body of rock with specified characteristics. Ideally, a facies is a distinctive rock unit that forms under certain conditions of sedimentation, reflecting a particular process or environment....
and fresh water swamps they are highly gregarious, forming large colonies.
Cultivation and uses
When this palm is cultivated it demands generous water, and rich, acidic soil and shade or filtered light. In habitat, the palm heart is consumed and the leaves are used in thatching. The fruit are often pickledPickling
Pickling, also known as brining or corning is the process of preserving food by anaerobic fermentation in brine to produce lactic acid, or marinating and storing it in an acid solution, usually vinegar . The resulting food is called a pickle. This procedure gives the food a salty or sour taste...
and used as a substitute for tamarind
Tamarind
Tamarind is a tree in the family Fabaceae. The genus Tamarindus is monotypic .-Origin:...
or made into sweetmeat.