Coccothrinax jimenezii Mejía & García (2013: 9)

1.20. Coccothrinax jimenezii Mejía & García (2013: 9) View in CoL . Type:— DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Province Independencia, Sierra de Neiba , 9 km al oeste de Postrer Río, carrertera hacia La Descubierta, lado norte del Lago Enriquillo, 18˚34’ N 71 ˚42’ W, 50 m, 24 July 2010, R. García & M. Mejía 7640 ( holotype JBSD!). Plate 15 View PLATE 15

Stems 4.0(2.5–5.5) m long, diameter not recorded, solitary or clustered. Leaves more or less deciduous or only leaf bases persisting on stem; leaf sheath fibers 0.4(0.2–0.7) mm diameter, stout, loosely woven and forming a loose, hexagonal mesh, initially forming ligules at the apices; petioles 7.6(6.2–10.0) mm diameter just below the apex; palmans 4.4(1.5–8.0) cm long, relatively short, with the adaxial veins prominent and terminating in a slight raised ridge and distinct pulvinus; leaf blades wedge-shaped; segments 23(16–29) per leaf, the middle ones 36.1(30.0–45.0) cm long and 1.9(1.7–2.2) cm wide; segments not pendulous at the apices, giving the leaf a flat appearance; middle leaf segments tapering from base to apex, often folded, stiff and leathery, with or without scarcely developed shoulders, the apices sharply pointed and briefly splitting; middle leaf segment apices attenuate; leaf segments not waxy or sometimes with a deciduous, thin layer of wax adaxially, without indumentum, scales, or wax abaxially, without or with poorly developed transverse veinlets. Inflorescences curving, arching, or pendulous amongst the leaves, with few partial inflorescences; rachis bracts narrow, closely sheathing, sparsely tomentose, usually without hairs at the apex; partial inflorescences 4; proximalmost rachillae straight, 5.2(3.0–7.7) cm long and 0.8(0.5–1.0) mm diameter in fruit; rachillae uneven at or near anthesis with lines of warty outgrowths, these often becoming more pronounced as fruits develop; stamens not recorded; fruit pedicels 0.6(0.3–1.1) mm long; fruits 5.1 mm long and 5.6 mm diameter, yellowish; fruit surfaces smooth or sometimes with projecting fibers; seed surfaces lobed, the lobes running from base of seeds approximately to equator.

Distribution and habitat:— Dominican Republic ( Independencia) ( Fig. 13 View FIGURE 13 ) in dry forest on limestone rocks and coral sediments, or dry, broad leaf forest, at 161(0–500) m elevation.

Taxonomic notes:— As a preliminary species, Coccothrinax jimenezii has a unique combination of character states and is recognized as a phylogenetic species. It is a member of a group of nine Hispaniolan species (see notes under C. boschiana ). An unidentified specimen ( Zanoni 33375) from near Pestel in southwestern Haiti shares all character states (although lacking fruits) with C. jimenezii . However, it occurs almost 250 km west of the type locality of C. jimenezii and on biogeographic grounds it seems likely to represent a different taxon.

Subspecific variation:—There is some local variation and there appear to be three populations. Five of the seven known specimens are from 0–50 m elevation on the margins of Lago Enriquillo, the type locality, in dry forest on limestone. Here the population is very small, and plants appear to have clustered stems. Another specimen ( Zanoni 39724) occurs in a nearby locality at 500 m elevation and is said to grow in “bosque latifoliado medio seco”. This specimen has a longer palman, more, longer segments, and longer pedicels than the specimens from the type locality. One other specimen ( Montero s.n.) has been collected from a large population approximately 20 km due west of the type locality. This specimen has a solitary stem and thicker leaf sheath fibers.