A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies , which are explained as a result of convergent evolution . The arrangement of the members of a polyphyletic group is called a polyphyly / ˈ p ɒ l ɪ ˌ f aɪ l i / . It is contrasted with monophyly and paraphyly .
54-572: See text Bactris is a genus of spiny palms which are native to Mexico, South and Central America and the Caribbean. Most species are small trees about 2 m (6 ft 7 in) tall, but some are large trees while others are shrubs with subterranean stems. They have simple or pinnately compound leaves and yellow, orange, red or purple-black fruit. The genus is most closely related to several other spiny palms— Acrocomia , Aiphanes , Astrocaryum and Desmoncus . The fruit of several species
108-453: A node-based clade definition , for example, could be "All descendants of the last common ancestor of species X and Y". On the other hand, polyphyletic groups can be delimited as a conjunction of several clades, for example "the flying vertebrates consist of the bat, bird, and pterosaur clades". From a practical perspective, grouping species monophyletically facilitates prediction far more than does polyphyletic grouping. For example, classifying
162-407: A clustering habit results. Exclusively sympodial genera include many of the rattans , Guihaia , and Rhapis . Several palm genera have both solitary and clustering members. Palms which are usually solitary may grow in clusters and vice versa. Palms have large, evergreen leaves that are either palmately ('fan-leaved') or pinnately ('feather-leaved') compound and spirally arranged at the top of
216-489: A few species) and range from 0.5–4.5 centimetres (0.2–1.8 in) long. Acrocomia Desmoncus Aiphanes Astrocaryum Bactris Desmoncus orthacanthos Bactris gasipaes Aiphanes aculeata * Acrocomia crispa Acrocomia aculeata Bactris is placed in the subfamily Arecoideae , the tribe Cocoseae and the subtribe Bactridinae , together with the genera Acrocomia , Aiphanes , Astrocaryum and Desmoncus . Phylogenetic studies support
270-458: A large amount of the human diet and several other human uses, both by absolute amount produced and by number of species domesticated . This is far higher than almost any other plant family, sixth out of domesticated crops in the human diet, and first in total economic value produced – sharing the top spot with the Poaceae and Fabaceae . These human uses have also spread many Arecaceae species around
324-421: A newly discovered grass in the monophyletic family Poaceae , the true grasses, immediately results in numerous predictions about its structure and its developmental and reproductive characteristics, that are synapomorphies of this family. In contrast, Linnaeus' assignment of plants with two stamens to the polyphyletic class Diandria, while practical for identification, turns out to be useless for prediction, since
378-678: A single genus in his 2000 monograph, while as of 2013 The Plant List included 79 accepted species. Henderson recognised six informal groups within the genus, but used them only for convenience and did not consider them monophyletic groups. These groups were (1) the Amylocarpus group, (2) the Guilielma group, (3) the Orange-fruited group, (4) the Piranga group, (5) the Purple-fruited group, and (6)
432-617: A variety of different habitats. Their diversity is highest in wet, lowland forests. South America , the Caribbean , and areas of the South Pacific and southern Asia are regions of concentration. Colombia may have the highest number of palm species in one country. There are some palms that are also native to desert areas such as the Arabian Peninsula and parts of northwestern Mexico. Only about 130 palm species naturally grow entirely beyond
486-609: A water source, and in desert oases such as the date palm . A few palms are adapted to extremely basic lime soils, while others are similarly adapted to extreme potassium deficiency and toxicity of heavy metals in serpentine soils . Palms are a monophyletic group of plants, meaning the group consists of a common ancestor and all its descendants. Extensive taxonomic research on palms began with botanist H.E. Moore , who organized palms into 15 major groups based mostly on general morphological characteristics. The following classification, proposed by N.W. Uhl and J. Dransfield in 1987,
540-505: Is a family of perennial , flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales . Their growth form can be climbers , shrubs , tree -like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms . Those having a tree-like form are colloquially called palm trees . Currently, 181 genera with around 2,600 species are known, most of which are restricted to tropical and subtropical climates. Most palms are distinguished by their large, compound, evergreen leaves, known as fronds , arranged at
594-508: Is a revision of Moore's classification that organizes palms into 6 subfamilies. A few general traits of each subfamily are listed below. The Phytelephantoideae is the sixth subfamily of Arecaceae in N.W. Uhl and J. Dransfield's 1987 classification. Members of this group have distinct monopodial flower clusters. Other distinct features include a gynoecium with five to 10 joined carpels, and flowers with more than three parts per whorl. Fruits are multiple-seeded and have multiple parts. From
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#1733086261249648-439: Is edible, most notably B. gasipaes , while others are used medicinally or for construction. The ancestors of the genus are believed to have entered South America during the late Cretaceous . Bactris shows high rates of speciation. Both stems and leaves of Bactris species are generally covered with spines . Stems generally bear spines on the internodes; in B. glaucescens and B. setulosa spines are also present on
702-595: Is from Dravidian *aṭ-ay-kkāy ("areca nut"). The suffix -aceae is the feminine plural of the Latin -āceus ("resembling"). Palm originates from Latin palma semantically overlapping with sense of " hand front " (due to similar splayed shape) ultimately from Proto-Indo-European * pl̥h₂meh₂ , a direct descendant folm once existed in Old English. Whether as shrubs, tree-like, or vines, palms have two methods of growth: solitary or clustered. The common representation
756-496: Is often called "anomalous secondary growth". The Arecaceae are notable among monocots for their height and for the size of their seeds, leaves, and inflorescences. Ceroxylon quindiuense , Colombia's national "tree", is the tallest monocot in the world, reaching up to 60 metres (197 ft) tall. The coco de mer ( Lodoicea maldivica ) has the largest seeds of any plant, 40–50 centimetres (16–20 in) in diameter and weighing 15–30 kilograms (33–66 lb) each ( coconuts are
810-583: Is often the stimulus for major revisions of the classification schemes. Researchers concerned more with ecology than with systematics may take polyphyletic groups as legitimate subject matter; the similarities in activity within the fungus group Alternaria , for example, can lead researchers to regard the group as a valid genus while acknowledging its polyphyly. In recent research, the concepts of monophyly, paraphyly, and polyphyly have been used in deducing key genes for barcoding of diverse groups of species. The term polyphyly , or polyphyletic , derives from
864-662: Is possible north of subtropical climates, and some higher latitude locales such as Ireland, Scotland, England, and the Pacific Northwest feature a few palms in protected locations and microclimates . In the United States , there are at least 12 native palm species, mostly occurring in the states of the Deep South and Florida . Palms inhabit a variety of ecosystems. More than two-thirds of palm species live in humid moist forests, where some species grow tall enough to form part of
918-460: Is that of a solitary shoot ending in a crown of leaves. This monopodial character may be exhibited by prostrate, trunkless, and trunk-forming members. Some common palms restricted to solitary growth include Washingtonia and Roystonea . Palms may instead grow in sparse though dense clusters. The trunk develops an axillary bud at a leaf node, usually near the base, from which a new shoot emerges. The new shoot, in turn, produces an axillary bud and
972-559: The Dasypogonaceae . For a phylogenetic tree of the family, see the list of Arecaceae genera . The Arecaceae were the first modern family of monocots to appear in the fossil record around 80 million years ago (Mya), during the late Cretaceous period. The first modern species, such as Nypa fruticans and Acrocomia aculeata , appeared 69 Mya, as evidenced by fossil Nypa pollen. Palms appear to have undergone an early period of adaptive radiation . By 60 Mya, many of
1026-571: The Pyrenoglyphis group. In their study of the Bactridinae, Wolf Eiserhardt and colleagues sampled 13 species of Bactris distributed among these six groups; five of these groups were represented by more than one species in their sample. Of these five, only the Guilielma group was potentially monophyletic (although support for this conclusion was weak). The other four were found to be either polyphyletic or paraphyletic (although here again, support
1080-569: The canopy and shorter ones form part of the understory . Some species form pure stands in areas with poor drainage or regular flooding, including Raphia hookeri which is common in coastal freshwater swamps in West Africa. Other palms live in tropical mountain habitats above 1 thousand metres (3 thousand feet), such as those in the genus Ceroxylon native to the Andes . Palms may also live in grasslands and scrublands, usually associated with
1134-628: The monophyly of both the subtribe Bactridinae and the genus Bactris , but differ in terms of how the genera within the subtribe are related to one-another. The first species were attributed to the genus by Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin in 1763, but a formal description of the genus was only published in 1777 by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli . Later workers split Bactris into several genera ( Guilielma , Augustinea , Pyrenoglyphis , Amylocarpus and Yuyba ) and described several hundred species. Although earlier authors recognised between 239 and 257 species of Bactris , Andrew Henderson accepted 73 species and
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#17330862612491188-730: The Caribbean and form a closely related clade. Bactris gasipaes , the peyibaye or peach palm, was domesticated in pre-Columbian times and is cultivated for its starchy fruit and palm heart throughout the Neotropics, especially in Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Costa Rica. Other species used for food include B. brongniartii , B. campestris , B. concinna and B. major . Bactris acanthophora and B. campestris are used medicinally, while B. barronis , B. pilosa and B. setulosa are used in construction. Arecaceae The Arecaceae ( / ˌ ær ə ˈ k eɪ s i . iː , - ˌ aɪ / )
1242-640: The Ceroxyloideae and Phytelephantoideae. Studies have suggested the lack of a fully resolved hypothesis for the relationships within the family is due to a variety of factors, including difficulties in selecting appropriate outgroups, homoplasy in morphological character states, slow rates of molecular evolution important for the use of standard DNA markers , and character polarization. However, hybridization has been observed among Orbignya and Phoenix species, and using chloroplast DNA in cladistic studies may produce inaccurate results due to maternal inheritance of
1296-558: The IUCN, and was published in 1996. The rarest palm known is Hyophorbe amaricaulis . The only living individual remains at the Botanic Gardens of Curepipe in Mauritius . Some pests are specialists to particular taxa . Pests that attack a variety of species of palms include: The palm branch was a symbol of triumph and victory in classical antiquity . The Romans rewarded champions of
1350-520: The Middle East and North Africa. A wide range of common products and foods are derived from palms. In contemporary times, palms are also widely used in landscaping. In many historical cultures, because of their importance as food, palms were symbols for such ideas as victory, peace, and fertility. The word Arecaceae is derived from the word areca with the suffix "-aceae". Areca is derived from Portuguese , via Malayalam അടയ്ക്ക ( aṭaykka ), which
1404-565: The Rathayatra carts which carry the deities of Krishna and his family members in the cart festival of Jagganath Puri in India are marked with the emblem of a palm tree. Specifically it is the symbol of Krishna's brother, Baladeva. In 1840, the American geologist Edward Hitchcock (1793–1864) published the first tree-like paleontology chart in his Elementary Geology , with two separate trees of life for
1458-530: The area. The sale of seeds to nurseries and collectors is another threat, as the seeds of popular palms are sometimes harvested directly from the wild. In 2006, at least 100 palm species were considered endangered, and nine species have been reported as recently extinct. However, several factors make palm conservation more difficult. Palms live in almost every type of warm habitat and have tremendous morphological diversity. Most palm seeds lose viability quickly, and they cannot be preserved in low temperatures because
1512-407: The base. The stamens generally number six, with filaments that may be separate, attached to each other, or attached to the pistil at the base. The fruit is usually a single- seeded drupe (sometimes berry-like) but some genera (e.g., Salacca ) may contain two or more seeds in each fruit. Like all monocots , palms do not have the ability to increase the width of a stem ( secondary growth ) via
1566-444: The biological characteristic of warm-bloodedness evolved separately in the ancestors of mammals and the ancestors of birds; "warm-blooded animals" is therefore a polyphyletic grouping. Other examples of polyphyletic groups are algae , C4 photosynthetic plants , and edentates . Many taxonomists aim to avoid homoplasies in grouping taxa together, with a goal to identify and eliminate groups that are found to be polyphyletic. This
1620-466: The chloroplast DNA. Chemical and molecular data from non-organelle DNA, for example, could be more effective for studying palm phylogeny. Recently, nuclear genomes and transcriptomes have been used to reconstruct the phylogeny of palms. This has revealed, for example, that a whole-genome duplication event occurred early in the evolution of the Arecaceae lineage, that was not experienced by its sister clade,
1674-493: The cold kills the embryo. Using botanical gardens for conservation also presents problems, since they can rarely house more than a few plants of any species or truly imitate the natural setting. There is also the risk that cross-pollination can lead to hybrid species. The Palm Specialist Group of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) began in 1984, and has performed a series of three studies to find basic information on
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1728-721: The deserts, it also created a more amenable habitat for the people to live in by providing shade and protection from the desert winds. An indication of the importance of palms in ancient times is that they are mentioned more than 30 times in the Bible , and at least 22 times in the Quran . The Torah also references the "70 date palm trees", which symbolize the 70 aspects of Torah that are revealed to those who "eat of its fruit." Arecaceae have great economic importance, including coconut products, oils, dates, palm syrup , ivory nuts, carnauba wax, rattan cane, raffia, and palm wood . This family supplies
1782-432: The fact that a monophyletic group includes organisms consisting of all the descendants of a unique common ancestor. By comparison, the term paraphyly , or paraphyletic , uses the ancient Greek preposition παρά ( pará ) 'beside, near', and refers to the situation in which one or several monophyletic subgroups are left apart from all other descendants of a unique common ancestor. In many schools of taxonomy ,
1836-652: The games and celebrated military successes with palm branches. Early Christians used the palm branch to symbolize the victory of the faithful over enemies of the soul, as in the Palm Sunday festival celebrating the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem . In Judaism , the palm represents peace and plenty, and is one of the Four Species of Sukkot ; the palm may also symbolize the Tree of Life in Kabbalah . The canopies of
1890-500: The habitat, and those with small habitat ranges are most vulnerable to them. The harvesting of heart of palm, a delicacy in salads, also poses a threat because it is derived from the palm's apical meristem , a vital part of the palm that cannot be regrown (except in domesticated varieties, e.g. of peach palm ). The use of rattan palms in furniture has caused a major population decrease in these species that has negatively affected local and international markets, as well as biodiversity in
1944-432: The history of the Middle East and North Africa. In the text "Date Palm Products" (1993), W.H. Barreveld wrote: One could go as far as to say that, had the date palm not existed, the expansion of the human race into the hot and barren parts of the "old" world would have been much more restricted. The date palm not only provided a concentrated energy food, which could be easily stored and carried along on long journeys across
1998-673: The modern phylogenomic data, the Phytelephantoideae are tribe in the Ceroxyloideae subfamily. Currently, few extensive phylogenetic studies of the Arecaceae exist. In 1997, Baker et al. explored subfamily and tribe relationships using chloroplast DNA from 60 genera from all subfamilies and tribes. The results strongly showed the Calamoideae are monophyletic, and Ceroxyloideae and Coryphoideae are paraphyletic. The relationships of Arecoideae are uncertain, but they are possibly related to
2052-660: The modern, specialized genera of palms appeared and became widespread and common, much more widespread than their range today. Because palms separated from the monocots earlier than other families, they developed more intrafamilial specialization and diversity. By tracing back these diverse characteristics of palms to the basic structures of monocots, palms may be valuable in studying monocot evolution. Several species of palms have been identified from flowers preserved in amber, including Palaeoraphe dominicana and Roystonea palaea . Fossil evidence of them can also be found in samples of petrified palmwood . The relationship between
2106-846: The nodes. A few species lack spines on their stems. All species have spiny leaves; the spines are often clustered on the petiole or rachis . In some species the spines are only found on the tips of the leaflets. Most species grow in multi-stemmed clumps with stems about 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) tall and 3 centimetres (1.2 in) in diameter, but they span a range of sizes from tall trees to shrubs with subterranean stems and are sometimes single-stemmed. Stems can be as narrow as 0.3–0.5 centimetres (0.1–0.2 in) in B. aubletiana or as broad as 25 centimetres (10 in) in B. gasipaes . The leaves can be either pinnately compound or simple; in some species like B. hirta both types of leaves exist. Petioles range from 5 centimetres (2.0 in) to over 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) in length, while
2160-574: The palm family, it was found that Bactris was one of six palm genera that showed the highest rates of speciation. The genus ranges from Mexico, through Central America and the Caribbean and across much of tropical South America. Diversity is highest in the Amazonian region. Most of the species in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest are endemic to the region. Three species ( B. cubensis , B. jamaicana and B. plumeriana ) are restricted to
2214-516: The plants and the animals. These are crowned (graphically) with the Palms and with Man. Today, the palm, especially the coconut palm, remains a symbol of the tropical island paradise . Palms appear on the flags and seals of several places where they are native, including those of Haiti , Guam , Saudi Arabia , Florida , and South Carolina . Some species commonly called palms, though they are not true palms, include: Polyphyletic For example,
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2268-400: The presence of exactly two stamens has developed convergently in many groups. Species have a special status in systematics as being an observable feature of nature itself and as the basic unit of classification. It is usually implicitly assumed that species are monophyletic (or at least paraphyletic ). However, hybrid speciation arguably leads to polyphyletic species. Hybrid species are
2322-431: The rachis (which bears the leaflets) can be 3 centimetres (1.2 in) to over 3 metres (9.8 ft) long. Inflorescences are borne singly emerging from the leaf axil . Flowers grow in triplets along the inflorescence; each female flower is flanked by two male flowers; elsewhere along the inflorescence male flowers grow singly or in pairs. Ripe fruit can be yellow, orange, red or purple-black (other colours are present in
2376-494: The recognition of polyphyletic groups in a classification is discouraged. Monophyletic groups (that is, clades ) are considered by these schools of thought to be the only valid groupings of organisms because they are diagnosed ("defined", in common parlance) on the basis of synapomorphies , while paraphyletic or polyphyletic groups are not. From the perspective of ancestry, clades are simple to define in purely phylogenetic terms without reference to clades previously introduced:
2430-399: The same kind of vascular cambium found in non-monocot woody plants . This explains the cylindrical shape of the trunk (almost constant diameter) that is often seen in palms, unlike in ring -forming trees. However, many palms, like some other monocots, do have secondary growth, although because it does not arise from a single vascular cambium producing xylem inwards and phloem outwards, it
2484-486: The second largest). Raffia palms ( Raphia spp.) have the largest leaves of any plant, up to 25 metres (82 ft) long and 3 metres (10 ft) wide. The Corypha species have the largest inflorescence of any plant, up to 7.5 metres (25 ft) tall and containing millions of small flowers. Calamus stems can reach 200 metres (656 ft) in length. Most palms are native to tropical and subtropical climates. Palms thrive in moist and hot climates but can be found in
2538-476: The status of palms in the wild, use of wild palms, and palms under cultivation. Two projects on palm conservation and use supported by the World Wildlife Fund took place from 1985 to 1990 and 1986–1991, in the American tropics and southeast Asia, respectively. Both studies produced copious new data and publications on palms. Preparation of a global action plan for palm conservation began in 1991, supported by
2592-411: The stem. The leaves have a tubular sheath at the base that usually splits open on one side at maturity. The inflorescence is a spadix or spike surrounded by one or more bracts or spathes that become woody at maturity. The flowers are generally small and white, radially symmetric, and can be either uni- or bisexual. The sepals and petals usually number three each and may be distinct or joined at
2646-476: The subfamilies is shown in the following cladogram: Calamoideae Nypoideae Coryphoideae Ceroxyloideae Arecoideae Evidence for cultivation of the date palm by Mesopotamians and other Middle Eastern peoples exists from more than 5,000 years ago, in the form of date wood, pits for storing dates, and other remains of the date palm in Mesopotamian sites. The date palm had a significant effect on
2700-479: The top of an unbranched stem, except for the Hyphaene genus, who has branched palms. However, palms exhibit an enormous diversity in physical characteristics and inhabit nearly every type of habitat within their range, from rainforests to deserts . Palms are among the best known and most extensively cultivated plant families. They have been important to humans throughout much of history, especially in regions like
2754-625: The tropics, mostly in humid lowland subtropical climates, in highlands in southern Asia, and along the rim lands of the Mediterranean Sea . The northernmost native palm is Chamaerops humilis , which reaches 44°N latitude along the coast of Liguria , Italy . In the southern hemisphere, the southernmost palm is the Rhopalostylis sapida , which reaches 44°S on the Chatham Islands where an oceanic climate prevails. Cultivation of palms
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#17330862612492808-405: The two Ancient Greek words πολύς ( polús ) 'many, a lot of', and φῦλον ( phûlon ) 'genus, species', and refers to the fact that a polyphyletic group includes organisms (e.g., genera, species) arising from multiple ancestral sources. Conversely, the term monophyly , or monophyletic , employs the ancient Greek adjective μόνος ( mónos ) 'alone, only, unique', and refers to
2862-426: The world. Along with dates mentioned above, members of the palm family with human uses are numerous: Like many other plants, palms have been threatened by human intervention and exploitation . The greatest risk to palms is destruction of habitat , especially in the tropical forests , due to urbanization , wood-chipping , mining , and conversion to farmland . Palms rarely reproduce after such great changes in
2916-581: Was only strong for two of the four). The sixth group, the Orange-fruited group, was only represented by a single species in their data set. The subfamily Arecoideae is believed to have evolved in North America about 78 million years ago, and colonised South America during the late Cretaceous before going extinct in North America. The subtribe Bactridinae evolved between 54 and 35 million years ago, The ancestors of Bactris diverged from those of Astroacryum between 26 and 36 million years ago. In an analysis of
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