Taxonomy
Xaté palms (Chamaedorea spp.) in Belize
The genus Chamaedorea
Chamaedorea is the largest genus of palms in the Americas, containing 70 -100 species. The genus name is derived from the Greek chamai, meaning on the ground, and dorea, meaning gift.
fruits of Chamaedorea oblongata
The taxonomy of the genus is still to be resolved, although genetic studies are assisting our understanding of species delimitations and are enabling scientists to understand their evolutionary relationships for the first time. Donald Hodel's excellent Chamaedorea Palms: The Species and Their Cultivation 1992) is by far the best source of information on the genus.
buds of C. ernesti-augustii (fishtail)
The genus has separate male and female plants (dioecious). Flowers are small (less than 5 mm across) and, like all palms, bear flower parts in multiples of three. Classification of species into smaller groups within the genus (sub-genera) is based on such characters as whether the flower petals are fused in both sexes whether the petals become thickened in fruit, and whether male flowers are borne singly or in clusters.
open flowers of C. ernesti-augustii (fishtail)