The GenusReinhordtio HAROLD E. MOORE, JR. A few fortunate gardenerstoday pos- in recent years. Plants grown in the sess plants of one of the varieties of constant conditions of a warm green' Reinhardtia g,racilis, a small but in- house flourish when provided with rich 'owindows" triguing palm with in the humus soil, plenty of water and heat. In leaves. A similar but larger species, the open or under lath in Florida, they R. Iatisecta, was illustrated by M. A. grow more slowly and appearto be sen- Langlois in Principes 1:48, 1957. Three sitive to cold. additional speciesbelong in this unusual Further trials are neededto solve the genus. All of them are suitable for cul- problems of successfulgrowing. Those tivation and tu'o specieshave been culti- species not yet in cultivation are cer- vated in times past under the name tainly vv-ortha serious attempt at intro- l[alortiea. A technical study of the duction. The handsome appearanceof genuswill shortly appearin GentesHer- R. latisecta has already been shown in how- Principes. Reinhardtia elegans wotid. barum. A less formal approach, "elegant," ever, may provide readers of Principes appear to deservethe epithet with information about plants in cultiva- and the diminutive R, Koschnyana is a tion, with the meansof identifying them, prize to be sought. With the exception and, in addition, may explain why we of R. elegans, plants eventually form call the genrs Reinhard,tia tod,ay clusters of severalstems from an under- ground rhizome and thus may be propa- gated without Reinhardtia in Nature seed. and, in Cultiaation Reinhardttia aersus Malortiea The five recognized speciesof Rein- hardtia occur in the tropical rain-forests The first record of Reinhardtia ap' of southern Mexico, Central America pearedin 1845 when the Danish botanist and northern Colombia. They are shade- [,iebmann mentionedthe name only in a loving palms requiring abundant mois- list of Mexican palms he had collected. ture and, where I have seen them in It was not until 1849 that a description Mexico and Costa Rica, are always on of the single species, Reinhariltia ele' rather steep slopes in well-drained soil gans, appeared in Martius' Historia rich in humus. Most reinhardtias grow Naturalis Palmarum. Until 1889, it was at lorv elevations from near sea-levil to supposed that this slender palm with about 2,000 feet, though R. elegansand, evinly pinnate leaveswas the only spe- R. gracilis var..tenuissima are found at cies of the senus. In the meantime,Her' an altitude of about 3,000 feet. mann Wendland, RoYal Gardener at There is far too little information re- Hannover, Germany, described a small garding their requirements in cultiva- Guatemalanpalm of unusualhabit note- tion. Reinhardtia simplex and one or worthy, a-ong other characteristics,for more varieties of ft. gracilis were grown the opening betweenthe basesof-pinnae in European and British greenhousesin that were otherwise united. It was the last century. The same two species called. Malortiea gracili.s; the generic were also cultivated at the Doheny name lJlalortiea coined, in honor of Estate in Los Angeles. California, early Ernst von Malortie' Chief l\{arshal of in this century. New introductions have the Kine of Hannover. brought fresh stocksof R. gracilis varie- Later in the same Year, 1853, Vend- ties and R. simplex into the United States land described specimensof a second 127 species,also from Guatemala,to which being, Drymophloeus, Euterpe, Ptycho- he gave the name fuIalortiea latisecta. coccrrs,Ptychosperma (which includes Actinophloeus), Synechanthus, and A few yearslater, a third speciesfrom others less familiar. Even the leaf is Costa Rica, M. simplex, was added to seento be of similar nature. Althoueh the genusand in I90I, lVlalortieaKosch- the pinnae are all separatedin Rein- nyana) one of the smallest of all palms, ha,rdtia elegans, the narrow tips are was describedfrom specimensalso col- toothed in the same manner as the tips lected in Costa Rica. of the segmentsthat unite to make the ',other When W'endland amplified the de- leaf of species as illustrated in scription of Malortiea in describing M. fig. 3. latisecta,he noted a strong resemblance to the sentrs Reinhardtia, but because The Cenus and its Species of the difference in leavesand supposed differences in flolvers he maintained Reinhardtia them apart as did Sir Joseph Hooker Species of Reinlmrd,tia are of mod- when he studied the genera for Cenera erate to very small size with smooth Plantarum. solitarv stems. or more often with loosely clustered stems from an under- Oscar Drude, however, combined the ground rhizome. Leaves have slender two senera when he wrote the treatment tubular sheaths "woven" of tfie palms for Engler and Prantl's of brown fibers Die natiirlichen P Max which are most prominent op- flanzenfamili'en. posite the Burret rdached a similar conclusion petiole where they project when he studied the genera in 1932, upward in a short to rather long ligular though L. H. Bailey continued to sep- structure when young, becoming frayed as the leaf ages. Bladesare pinnate with arate them. Further studv-material on mv own part wilh more abundant than numerous reduplicate pinnae or are pinnately was availablepreviously, and augmented nerved with segments par- by observation of some species in tially or completely united. Pinnae Mexico and Costa Rica, confirms the and segments have numerous fine propriety of uniting Malortiea with the nerves and one principal central earlier Reinhardtia. nerve which extends in a point at the toothed or two-pronged tip. When Supposeddifferences based on inade- quate specimensor erroneous observa- tion disappear. Flowers are essentially similar in all species(fig. l), and are unusual among palms in having the sterile stamensof the pistillate (female) Fig. l. FLOWERS OF REINHARDTIA. A, R. elegans. Aa, flowering node (X5), Ab, flowers attached to the base of the pistillate Ilower and bracteole (X5), Ac, pis- petals, partially united in a ring, and tillate corolla (X5), Ad, pistillate corolla ex- often with the short remnants of the panded to show staminodes (X5), Ae, brac- stalks or filaments protruding when the teole (X5), Af, pistillate sepal (X5), Ag, ( is fully opened(fig. I pistil X5) , Ah, pistil in vertical section flower Cb). The (X5), Ai, ovary in cross section (X10), Aj, degree of rumination (intrusion of the staminate flower ( X5), Ak, androeciurn seed coat) of the endosperm has been (XS). B, R. gracilis var. gracilis, Ba, florv- found a poor distinction for genera ering node ( X5), Bb, pistillate flower and ( when used alone. In Reinhard,tia. the bracteoles X5), Bc, bracteole ( X5), Bd, pistillate corolla ( X5) , Be, pistillate sepal endosperm varies from strongly rumi- (X5), Bf, pistillate corolla expanded to show nate in R, elegans and ft. latisecta, to staminodes (XS), ng, pistil (X5), Bh, pistil weakly or not at all ruminate in the re. in vertical section (X5), Bi, ovary in cross maining species(fig. 2). A similar con- section (Xl0), Bj, staminate {lower (X5), Bk, androecium (X5). gracilis dition is C. R. var. found in other eenera which rostrata. Ca, staminate flower. ( X5) . Cb, have both types of endospelm,examples pistillate flower ar maruriry (X5). 128 ''aT A /\ /\ll /\ A lf{ Bi \!./ hl Bg Bh ,4N MBj 129 segmentsare united, the margin of the deeply divided bases and tips with a leif is obliquely and sharply cut. Before single or double point. There is no evi- the blade erpands, the points at tle tips denceof a pistillode. the segmentsare united by a slender of Symmetric pistillate flowers (fig. f rein or lora which soon f ragments Ab-i, Bb-i) are flanked by a pair of per- (fig. 3G). sistent bracteoles that are concave on Inflorescencesappear from the the back. The sepals are strongly im- sheathsof the older leaves. Each is en- bricate and frequently handsomely folded at first by two papery bracts nerved. ,.Petals are imbricate or par- attachedclose togelher at the base of tially united at the base but are valvate the long peduncle. The outer of these above. The grooved tips spread at ma- bracts is short and oPen aL the tiP, turity to show the slender free tips of seldom protruding beybnd the sheath. staminodes that are otherwise united The inner is longer, tubular, pointed, with each other and with the petals (fig. and at first completely enclosesthe in- I Cb) . The pistil consists of a short, florescence, then ruptures along one soft, trilocular ovary bearing l-3 ovules side as the peduncle elongates. Both near the base of an axile placenta con- bracts are usually persistent, the inner tinued in a thickened grooved style, and remaining attached though withering 3 slender stigmas that recurve at and frayins. The inflorescenceis usu- maturity. paniCleof few to many simple or ally a The ellipsoid. ovoid, or obovoid fruit branched rachillae, but in one forked or (fig, 2) is small, smooth, deep purple it is spicate with only a- single species or blackish when ripe, l-seeded, and axis developed. Rachillae are flowering bears the style and remains of the stig- when in flower. As the creamy white mas in a very small to prominentpoint matures. however, they become fruit at its tip. The seed is attached to the and bright orange-red in thickened thin shining endocarp either laterally color. along an impressedraphe or at the basi, Creamy-white flowers are borne in and is more or less iculptured by im- shallow depressionsarranged in a spiral pressed vascular strands. The Lndo- or more iarely nearly in two ranks sperm is ruminate or homoqeneouswith along the rachilla. Each depression is the embryo borne at the baie. subtendedby and partially covered in bud rvith a pointed bractlet. These,for the most pait, bear a staminate (male) flower on either side of a pistillate (female) which does not expand fully until the staminate flowers have fallen (fig.