Phenakospermum
Encyclopedia
Phenakospermum is a monotypic genus
in the family
Strelitziaceae
. Only one species is recognized, Phenakospermum guianense, native to Surinam and the eastern Amazon River basin. This plant grows to over 10 m in height but can be felled with a single blow with a machete.
Although not as prized as the ornamental Traveler's palm (in the same family), P. guianense is used locally in Brazil as a landscape element. The broad leaves are used to wrap fish in Benevides, Brazil, especially when Calathea leaves (Marantaceae) are not available.
Previously, this genus was included in the now exclusively Old World genus Ravenala.
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...
in the family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
Strelitziaceae
Strelitziaceae
Strelitziaceae is a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants. The plants are very similar in appearance and growth habit to members of the related families Heliconiaceae and Musaceae...
. Only one species is recognized, Phenakospermum guianense, native to Surinam and the eastern Amazon River basin. This plant grows to over 10 m in height but can be felled with a single blow with a machete.
Although not as prized as the ornamental Traveler's palm (in the same family), P. guianense is used locally in Brazil as a landscape element. The broad leaves are used to wrap fish in Benevides, Brazil, especially when Calathea leaves (Marantaceae) are not available.
Previously, this genus was included in the now exclusively Old World genus Ravenala.