| Itaya | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Arecales |
| Family: | Arecaceae |
| Subfamily: | Coryphoideae |
| Tribe: | Cryosophileae |
| Genus: | Itaya H.E.Moore |
| Species: | I. amicorum |
| Binomial name | |
| Itaya amicorum | |
Itaya amicorum is a medium-sizefan palm that is native toBrazil,Colombia andPeru. It is theonly species in the genusItaya. It was unknown to science until 1972, when it was discovered on thebank of theItaya River in thePeruvian Amazon.[2]
Itaya amicorum is a medium-sized, single-stemmed palm withfan-shaped (or palmate) leaves. The stems reach a height of up to 4 metres (13 ft) with a diameter of 9 to 10 centimetres (3.5 to 3.9 in). Plants have between 11 and 25 leaves which have a roughly circular blade, about 2 m (6.6 ft) in diameter which is split into 10 to 16 broad leaflets, and a longpetiole. The leaves have a whitish or silver-grey underside.[3]
Itaya amicorum is pleonanthic—it flowers repeatedly over the course of its lifespan—andhermaphroditic; both male and female sex organs are present in the same flowers.[4] The flowers are whitish in colour, while the fruit are yellowish-green, 2 to 2.5 cm (0.8 to 1.0 in) long, 1.5 to 2 cm (0.6 to 0.8 in) in diameter.
| Simplified phylogeny of the New World thatch palms based on fournuclear genes and thematK plastid gene.[5] |
Itaya is amonotypic genus—it includes only a single species,I. amicorum.[6] The species was first collected in 1972 along theRio Itaya in Peru, and was described byHarold E. Moore the same year.[3] In the first edition ofGenera Palmarum (1987),Natalie Uhl andJohn Dransfield placed the genusItaya in thesubfamilyCoryphoideae, thetribeCorypheae and thesubtribeThrinacinae[4] Subsequentphylogenetic analysis showed that theOld World andNew World members of the Thrinacinae were not closely related. As a consequence of this,Itaya and related genera were places in their own tribe,Cryosophileae.[7]
Itaya amicorum is found only in the westernAmazon basin in Brazil, Colombia and Peru. Originally thought to beendangered due to its narrow distribution, the species is now known to be more widely distributed.[3] TheIUCN Red List categorises the species asdata deficient.[1]
The Miraña, an indigenous Amerindian group in the Amazon, reportedly burn the trunks ofItaya amicorum in order to extract salt from them. The leaves are used for thatch.[3]
