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tomentose margins; rachillae 38(28–43), glabrous or scarcely tomentose initially; proximal rachillae
13.0(9.0–19.0) cm long, 1.2(0.9–1.7) mm wide; stamens 9(8–11); fruits 15.2(12.1–18.6) mm long, 12.7(10.3–
16.2) mm wide, the surfaces uneven with numerous, subepidermal, short, often branching (Y-shaped) fibers;
fruiting corollas less than one quarter as long as fruits, splitting irregularly into 3 lobes, the lobes often
splitting again; endocarps globose to obovoid with rounded or slightly peaked apices, the pores lateral.
Distribution and habitat:—From 13°03’–18°35’N and 84°58’–96°24’W in southern Mexico
(Campeche, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, and Veracruz), Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and
Nicaragua at 187(10–550) m elevation in lowland rainforest, often in limestone areas (Fig. 5).
FIGURE 5. Distribution maps of Desmoncus chinantlensis, D. cirrhifer, D. costaricensis, and D. giganteus.
Taxonomic notes:—There are three original collections from Oaxaca of Desmoncus chinantlensis—
Liebmann 6594, 6595, and 6596, none of which was cited by Martius. Bailey (1933; see also Schultes 1940)
designated Liebmann 6595 from C as lectotype, and this specimen is illustrated by Dahlgren (1959, plate
180). Bailey noted that this specimen was somewhat different from the other two specimens, both at US. This
is probably because the leaf represented by the lectotype is from a young plant. Leaves of young plants, which
are frequently collected, have rachises which often lack spines and pinnae which are shorter, ovate, strongly
clustered, and lack spines at the bases.
Bartlett (1935) described five species from Belize and Guatemala, none of which are recognized here.
One of these, D. anomalus has narrow pinnae and pistillate flowers with unusual staminodes. Another
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