list of figures - Terry Sunderland

In common with other members of the genus, Calamus deërratus possesses dyads of
unisexual flowers, however the inflorescence units of the endemic rattan genera of
Africa also somewhat unique within the Calamoideae. The genera Eremospatha and
Laccosperma are composed of dyads of hermaphroditic flowers 1 . Although the dyad
composed of unisexual flowers is itself a common feature within the Calamoideae, the
dyad composed of hermaphroditic flowers is unique within the Palmae and is
considered to be an unspecialised form of flower arrangement (Uhl and Dransfield,
1987; Baker et al., 1999b; 1999d).
In contrast, the flower cluster of Oncocalamus is distinctive and complex, not only
within the Calamoideae, but in the Palmae as a whole. Oncocalamus is monoecious,
and consists of a central 1-3 pistillate flowers with two lateral cincinni subtended by a
single bract, with each cincinnus bearing basal 1-3 pistillate flowers and 3-5 distal
staminate flowers.
Figure 5. Diagram of selected dyads within the Calamoideae showing arranegments of flowers in
hermaphroditic, monoecious and dioecious taxa.
Laccosperma Oncocalamus Calamus
Eremspatha (Monoecious) (Dioecious)
(Hermaphroditic)
With the exception of the genus Eremospatha which, uniquely in the Palmae possess
an inflorescence that is free of conspicuous bracts, the Calamoideae possess strictly
tubular bracts that are rather uniform in shape (Baker et al., 1999d). As such, within
the genera Laccosperma and Oncocalamus, as well as Calamus deërratus, the rachis
bracts are tightly sheathing. In the former two genera, these bracts are often prone to
splitting and tattering post-anthesis.
1 Less commonly, Laccosperma may also possess triads of flowers.
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