Gaussia (plant)

Gaussia
Gaussia maya
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
(unranked):	Commelinids
Order:	Arecales
Family:	Arecaceae
Subfamily:	Arecoideae
Tribe:	Hyophorbeae
Genus:	Gaussia H.Wendl.
Species
Gaussia attenuata Gaussia gomez-pompae Gaussia maya Gaussia princeps Gaussia spirituana

Gaussia is a genus in the palm family, native to Mexico, Central America and the Greater Antilles. They are solitary, unarmed, and have pinnately compound leaves. The trees have enlarged bases and prop-roots.

There are five species in the genus—G. attenuata which is found in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, G. gomez-pompae which is found in the Mexican states of Chiapas, Oaxaca and Veracruz, G. maya which is found in Mexico, Belize and Guatemala, G. princeps which is found in western Cuba, and G. spirituana which is found in the Sierra de Jatibonico in east-central Cuba.

References

• "Gaussia H.Wendl., Nachr. Königl. Ges. Wiss. Georg-Augusts-Univ. 1865: 327 (1865)". Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
• George Proctor. 2005. Arecaceae (Palmae). Pp. 135–153 in Pedro Acevedo-Rodriguez and Mark T. Strong. Monocots and Gymnosperms of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium Volume 52.