CHIT PALMSIn the October 27th Newsletter I told you about the main palm around Yokdzonot, the Huano or Thatch Palm, Sabal yapa. Here in the much rainier, lusher southeast corner of the Yucatan Peninsula I'm not seeing Huanos, but a similar fan-palm-type species is abundant, shown below:
In Maya it's called Chit, but in North America often it goes by the name of Florida Thatch Palm. It's THRINAX RADIATA. The Huano piece's picture of my Yokdzonot neighbor Doña Neima sweeping with a broom made of Chit fronds can still be seen oline at http://www.backyardnature.net/n/08/081027pr.jpg. At first glance Chit and Huano fronds are very similar but if you look at the blades closely you'll notice important differences. Huano's frond stem, or petiole, continues up through the middle of the frond's blade, causing the frond to fold downward in the middle, a condition known as being "costapalmate." A picture showing a Huano frond doing this is at http://www.backyardnature.net/n/08/081027pq.jpg. You can compare that with a Chit's frond, shown below:
Notice how the Chit frond's petiole ends abruptly at the point where the frond segments radiate outward. Even more, at the petiole's connection point in the frond's center, notice that a toothlike growth rises perpendicular to the petiole. That toothlike item is referred to as a hastula. Hastulas occur on the fronds of several palm kinds but in the genus Thrinax hastulas are particularly well developed, and therefore they constitute a good field mark for the Chit. Chit occurs in the Florida Keys, where it's listed as endangered, as well as throughout the Caribbean, and much of Belize and the Yucatán. In terms of land area occupied (discounting the vast stretches of sea) this is actually a fairly small distribution area. Chits are regarded as threatened in the Yucatán, which might strike you as curious if you see how prolifically Chit seeds germinate beneath standing trees. To understand why the species is endangered, all you have to do is to look around, away from right beneath the tree. In this area Chit occupies the maybe 200- meter narrow ridge of sand between open water to the east and mangrove swamps to the west. That's also precisely where real-estate signs and scalped, occupied lots also are found. Habitat destruction and its limited distribution endanger Chit, not persnickety habitat requirements and not traditional broom-making by the Maya. Below you see a large, white, honeybee-buzzed inflorescence of Chit flowers:
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