Syagrus (plant)

Syagrus is a genus of Arecaceae (palms), native to South America, with one species endemic to the Lesser Antilles. The genus is closely related to the "Cocos", or coconut genus, and many "Syagrus" species produce edible seeds similar to the coconut.
Description.
Palms in this genus usually have solitary stems; clustered stems are less common, and a few are stolon-like subterranean. The stems are normally spineless, but some species have spiny leaf sheaths or spines. Those species that have upright trunks grow tall with stems that are in diameter.
The leaves of all but one species, "S. smithii", are pinnately compound. Leaf sheaths are split along their entire length, and consequently, crownshafts are not present in this genus. The transition from the leaf sheath to the petiole can be gradual and difficult to identify, but in species where they can be distinguished, leaf sheaths are long and the petioles are .
The inflorescences are unbranched or branch once; a single hybrid, "S". × "lacerdamourae", occasionally shows second-order branching, and emerge from between the leaves. They are monoecious, with both male and female flowers borne in the same inflorescence. The fruit are drupes, which vary in colour from green to orange to brown. They range in size from in length, and in diameter.
Taxonomy.
"Syagrus" has been placed in the subfamily Arecoideae, the tribe Cocoseae and the subtribe Attaleinae, together with the genera "Allagoptera", "Attalea", "Beccariophoenix", "Butia", "Cocos", "Jubaea", "Jubaeopsis", "Parajubaea", and "Voanioala".
Distribution.
"Syagrus" is an almost entirely South American genus. The only non-South American species, "S. amara", is endemic to five islands in the Lesser Antilles. The genus is found from sea level to elevations of above sea level.
Ecology.
"S. coronata" nuts are the favored food of Lear's macaw, whose bill size and shape are particularly adapted to crack them.
"Syagrus" species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including "Batrachedra nuciferae" (recorded on "S. coronae") and "Paysandisia archon" (recorded on "S. romanzoffiana").