Pseudophoenix ekmanii
Pseudophoenix ekmanii
The Dominican cherry palm (Pseudophoenix ekmanii Burret, 1929) is an arboreal species belonging to the Arecaceae family.
Systematics –
From a systematic point of view it belongs to:
Eukaryota domain,
Kingdom Plantae,
Subkingdom Tracheobionta,
Spermatophyta Superdivision,
Division Magnoliophyta,
Class Liliopsida,
Order Arecales,
Arecaceae family,
Subfamily Ceroxyloideae,
Tribe Cyclospatheae,
Genus Pseudophoenix,
Species P. ekmanii.
Etymology –
The term Pseudophoenix comes from the Greek word ψευδο, pseudo, that is, false and of the genus Phoenix, due to the supposed similarity between the two genera.
The specific epithet ekmanii was given in honor of the Swedish botanist Erik Leonard Ekman (1883-1931).
Geographic Distribution and Habitat –
Pseudophoenix ekmanii is a palm endemic to the Dominican Republic (Barahona Peninsula and the Blessed Island opposite).
Its habitat is those of the dry hilly scrub, where it grows on poor calcareous soils, at low altitudes.
Description –
Pseudophoenix ekmanii is a small, single-stemmed, monoecious palm that grows 4 to 6 m tall.
The stem is 5-6 m erect with a diameter of about 20 cm at the base, gradually growing up to 60-80 cm towards the apex and then sharply narrowing to about 15 cm under the crown; this is gray in color and covered with a thick layer of white wax in the youngest part on which the rings of fallen leaves stand out.
The leaves are sessile and pinnate, ascending and distictic in young plants, curved and spirally arranged in adult ones, up to about 2.5 m long, with linear-lanceolate leaflets with sharp apex, rigid, arranged more or less regularly along the rachis on several levels, long in the median part up to about 40 cm and 2 cm wide, grey-green in color and covered with a glaucous waxy patina.
Furthermore, the leaf base, open obliquely, entirely envelops the stem for only a few centimeters.
The inflorescences form between the leaves and are up to 1.5 m long, with third-order ramifications, hermaphroditic flowers arranged individually in a spiral on the rachillae, except in the terminal part where there are few male flowers, with a three-lobed calyx, 3 petals, 6 stamens and trilocular gynoecium and short sessile stigmas.
The fruits are globose, about 1.3 cm in diameter, or bi- or triglobose; they are reddish in color, waxy.
Inside we find 1-3 globose seeds of about 1 cm in diameter.
Cultivation –
Pseudophoenix ekmanii is an evergreen palm that was once a very popular source of sap for fermentation into wine, being commonly harvested from the wild for mainly local use.
Having become rare over time, it is currently not widely used for this purpose.
This palm is considered the most ornamental of the genus, due to the particular shape of the stems and the bands of white wax in the younger part interspersed with brown leaf scars, but it is little cultivated probably due to its extremely slow growth.
Like its relative P. vinifera, it has a very enlarged part of the trunk, appearing like a kind of “belly” which gives it a particular beauty.
The plant can be cultivated in tropical and subtropical climate regions; however, cultivation can be attempted in a sheltered position in milder temperate-warm ones, where temperatures around 0 °C are short-lived exceptions.
It requires a position in full sun and draining soils, preferably calcareous; it is a plant that resists drought, saltiness and strong winds, and can therefore be used in desert-type gardens, together with cacti and other xerophytic species, even near the sea.
The species reproduces by seed; this must be previously kept in water for 3 days, in a sandy substrate, kept slightly humid at a temperature of 26-28 °C; in these conditions germination times start from 3-4 months.
Customs and Traditions –
The Pseudophoenix ekmanii is a palm that grows naturally only in the Jaragua National Park, in the south-west of the Dominican Republic (Hispaniola island). Its distribution includes populations on the mainland (south of the Barahona peninsula) and on Benedetta Island.
It was first described by Max Burret and published in Kongliga Svenska Vetenskaps Academiens Handlingar, n.s. 6:19 am, t. 3rd 1929.789.
It is known by various common names, such as: cacheo or cacheo de Oviedo, Oviedo being the name of the municipality and the locality closest to its area of greatest distribution, a locality called Sabana de Algodón, in the Jaragua National Park.
In some publications it has also been called “Ekman’s frisk”, after the important Swedish botanist from whom it takes its specific name.
Other names are: Dominican cherry palm (English).
This palm was once used in the production of palm wine. The trees were cut down and the pith was extracted, especially from the swollen part of the trunk. The sap was then extracted and fermented. As a result of this cutting for the production of palm wine, the species has become rare and considered in serious danger of extinction.
Current threats include habitat loss due to grazing and cutting of the trunk to squeeze the sugary juice contained in the pulp. Throughout almost the whole year, this operation is carried out sporadically by some people from the Oviedo area who hunt or collect various resources in Jaragua Park. However, every year, between April and May, many people enter the Oviedo research area in search of parrot chicks and it is in this period that the greatest destruction of these palm trees is observed to drink their juice. Another growing threat is the trafficking of their seeds, which appears to be on the rise, with their seeds and seedlings currently being offered to collectors around the world.
Due to the restricted area of origin, the reduced number of specimens and the collection of the sap, the species has been included in the red list of the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) as “Critically Endangered” (at very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future).
Furthermore, this palm is extremely important for the nesting ecology of the Hispaniola parrot (Amazona ventralis), considered a Vulnerable Species (VU) on the IUCN Red List. This is because in the Jaragua National Park (which is part of the Jaragua-Bahoruco-Enriquillo Biosphere Reserve, declared a UNESCO heritage site in 2002) this parrot chooses its dry trunks as cavities in which to lay its eggs and incubate its chicks.
Method of Preparation –
From the sugary sap of the Pseudophoenix ekmanii, collected by cutting a rectangular portion of the stem in the swollen area, a sweet drink (mabí de cacheo) is obtained and, by fermentation, an alcoholic drink much appreciated by the local populations, a practice which often leads to the death of the plant and which has drastically reduced the number of specimens, threatening their survival.
Among the edible uses is therefore the extraction of the sap which is fermented to make wine.
However, its use should be evaluated and controlled, especially in its range of origin, since, as mentioned, it is a species at very high risk of extinction in nature due to the local sampling of the tasty sugary sap.
In addition to being an extremely rare palm, observations indicate that its growth is extremely slow (perhaps 100 years to adulthood) under natural conditions, which makes its propagation and spread more difficult.
Guido Bissanti
Sources
– Acta Plantarum – Flora of the Italian Regions.
– Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
– GBIF, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
– Useful Tropical Plants Database.
– Conti F., Abbate G., Alessandrini A., Blasi C. (ed.), 2005. An annotated checklist of the Italian vascular flora, Palombi Editore.
– Pignatti S., 1982. Flora of Italy, Edagricole, Bologna.
– Treben M., 2000. Health from the Lord’s Pharmacy, Advice and experiences with medicinal herbs, Ennsthaler Editore.
Photo source:
– https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/156005418/original.jpeg
– https://www.kew.org/herbcatimg/99976.jpg
Attention: The pharmaceutical applications and alimurgical uses are indicated for informational purposes only, they do not in any way represent a medical prescription; we therefore decline all responsibility for their use for curative, aesthetic or food purposes.