| Schippia | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Arecales |
| Family: | Arecaceae |
| Subfamily: | Coryphoideae |
| Tribe: | Cryosophileae |
| Genus: | Schippia Burret |
| Species: | S. concolor |
| Binomial name | |
| Schippia concolor Burret | |
Schippia concolor, themountain pimento orsilver pimento, is a medium-sizedpalm species that is native toBelize andGuatemala. Named for its discoverer, Australian botanistWilliam A. Schipp, the species is threatened byhabitat loss. It is the sole species in the genusSchippia.
Schippia concolor is a medium-sized, single-stemmed palm withfan-shaped (or palmate) leaves. The stem, which is 5 to 10 metres (16 to 33 ft) tall and 5 to 10 centimetres (2.0 to 3.9 in) in diameter, is usually covered by the remains of old, dead leaves (but in areas where fires are frequent the corky bark of the stem may be exposed throughout the length of the stem). Individuals bear 6 to 15 leaves which consist of a 2 m (6.6 ft)petiole and a roughly circular leaf blade which is about 1 m (3.3 ft) in diameter divided into 30 leaflets. The fruits are white, spherical and up to 2.5 cm (0.98 in) in diameter.[2]
| Simplified phylogeny of the Cryosophileae based on fournuclear genes and thematK plastid gene.[3] |
Schippia is amonotypic genus—it includes only a single species,S. concolor. In the first edition ofGenera Palmarum (1987),Natalie Uhl andJohn Dransfield placed the genusSchippia in thesubfamilyCoryphoideae, thetribeCorypheae and thesubtribeThrinacinae[4] Subsequentphylogenetic analysis showed that theOld World andNew World members of the Thrinacinae are not closely related. As a consequence of this,Schippia and related genera have been placed in their own tribe,Cryosophileae.[5] Within this tribe,Schippia appears to be most closely related to the genusCryosophila.[6]
The species was discovered by Australian botanistWilliam A. Schipp in 1932[2] and described by German taxonomistMax Burret in 1933.[7] Burret named the genus in honour of Schipp. Theholotype upon which the species (and the genus) was based, was Schipp's collection, assigned the collection numberS367. This specimen was destroyed when theBerlin Herbarium was bombed during theSecond World War.[8]
Schippia concolor exhibits the unusual strategy of transferring all stored resources from the seed to the seedling before any shoot growth occurs. In most plants, the seedling remains attached to the seed, gradually using the stored resources for growth, until those resources are exhausted. At that point, the connection withers, detaching the remains of the seed.[9]
Eight to nine days after the seed is hydrated, thecotyledon expands, pushes out of the seed, and grows downward into the soil. About 20 days after germination, the cotyledon reaches a length of about 15 cm (5.9 in) and begins to swell. By the thirtieth day, the lower 3 or 4 cm (1.2 or 1.6 in) are swollen, and about half the reserves in the seed have been mobilised. At about this point in time, the young root (theradicle) emerges. Sixty days after germination, the transfer of reserve from the seed has been completed, but it is only after 80 or 90 days that the young shoot (theplumule) emerges from the cotyledon.[9]
