Sommieria
Encyclopedia
Sommieria is a monotypic genus
of flowering plant
in the palm
family endemic to New Guinea
(Papua New Guinea
and West Papua in Indonesia
) where they grow in rain forest understory
. They resemble the Asterogyne
palms but are most closely related to those members of Heterospathe
with short stems and sparsely branched inlforescences. The name honors Stephen Sommier, European botanist.
is undivided, irregularly divided, or deeply bifid, with densely tomentose sheaths which disintegrate into a mass of fibers at the base. The inflorescence
is interfoliar and erect, about as long as the leaves and branched to one order. The peduncle is long and slender, the single peduncular bract is tubular and borne at the tip of the peduncle, enclosing the flower
s before antithesis. The short rachis usually bears few rachillae, spirally arranged, each subtended by a small bract.
The staminate flowers are asymmetrical and borne in triads with three distinct, valvate sepals and three thick petal
s. There are around 60 stamens with very short filaments, the elongated, basifixed anthers carry triangle shaped pollen with reticulate, tectate exine. The pistillate flowers become larger than the male's, the three sepals have rounded sides and pointed tips and the petals are asymmetrical with thick valvate tips. There are three to six small, triangular staminodes and the gynoecium is ovoid and covered in brown scales. The three stigmas are apical and reflexed; the ovule is pendulous. The red epicarp of the small round fruit
breaks away in age exposing the brown, warty mesocarp. The single seed
is spherical with homogeneous endosperm and a subbasal embryo
.
where it is restricted to dense rain forest understory. There they grow in constant shade or filtered light with high humidity and regular rainfall. They are not commonly cultivated and have no known uses.
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 endemic to New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
(Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
and West Papua in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
) where they grow in rain forest understory
Understory
Understory is the term for the area of a forest which grows at the lowest height level below the forest canopy. Plants in the understory consist of a mixture of seedlings and saplings of canopy trees together with understory shrubs and herbs...
. They resemble the Asterogyne
Asterogyne
Asterogyne is a genus of flowering plant in the Arecaceae family.It contains the following species:* Asterogyne martiana* Asterogyne ramosa* Asterogyne spicata* Asterogyne yaracuyense...
palms but are most closely related to those members of Heterospathe
Heterospathe
Heterospathe is a monoecious genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in Oceania where it is called sagisi palm. Among members of the Iguanurinae it is described as relatively unspecialized...
with short stems and sparsely branched inlforescences. The name honors Stephen Sommier, European botanist.
Description
A solitary plant, the trunk may or may not emerge above ground level and lacks armament. The short petiole and numerous leaves give it a full crown, each leafLeaf
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....
is undivided, irregularly divided, or deeply bifid, with densely tomentose sheaths which disintegrate into a mass of fibers at the base. 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 and erect, about as long as the leaves and branched to one order. The peduncle is long and slender, the single peduncular bract is tubular and borne at the tip of the peduncle, enclosing the flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s before antithesis. The short rachis usually bears few rachillae, spirally arranged, each subtended by a small bract.
The staminate flowers are asymmetrical and borne in triads with three distinct, valvate sepals and three thick petal
Petal
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...
s. There are around 60 stamens with very short filaments, the elongated, basifixed anthers carry triangle shaped pollen with reticulate, tectate exine. The pistillate flowers become larger than the male's, the three sepals have rounded sides and pointed tips and the petals are asymmetrical with thick valvate tips. There are three to six small, triangular staminodes and the gynoecium is ovoid and covered in brown scales. The three stigmas are apical and reflexed; the ovule is pendulous. The red epicarp of the small round 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,...
breaks away in age exposing the brown, warty mesocarp. The single 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...
is spherical with homogeneous endosperm and a subbasal embryo
Embryo
An embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...
.
Distribution and habitat
It is found in West Irian Jaya and Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
where it is restricted to dense rain forest understory. There they grow in constant shade or filtered light with high humidity and regular rainfall. They are not commonly cultivated and have no known uses.