Chelyocarpus
Chelyocarpus is a genus of small to medium-sized fan palms which are native to northwestern South America. Some are upright trees, while others creep along the ground. Species are used for thatch, to weave hats, stuff pillows and as a source of salt. Description. "Chelyocarpus" is a type of small to medium-sized, single or multi-stemmed palms with fan shaped leaves. Stems range from short and creeping along the ground to as much as tall. Stem diameters range from . Individuals have between 10 and 20 leaves with circular blades, the lower surface of which is usually whitish  in colour. The flowers are small and bisexual—they have both male and female sex organs in the same flower. The fruit have one or two seeds and ripen to a greenish yellow or brown. Taxonomy. The name "Chelyocarpus" is derived from Ancient Greek and means "turtle carapace-fruited", a reference to cracked surface of the fruits of the genus, which resemble the shell of a turtle. The species was first described by German botanist Carl Dammer in 1920. In the first edition of "Genera Palmarum" (1987), Natalie Uhl and John Dransfield placed the genus "Chelyocarpus" in subfamily Coryphoideae, tribe  Corypheae and subtribe Thrinacinae Subsequent phylogenetic analysis showed that the Old World and New World members of Thrinacinae are not closely related. As a consequence, "Chelyocarpus" and related genera have been placed in their own tribe, Cryosophileae. "Chelyocarpus" is considered to form the sister clade to the rest of the tribe. Distribution. Three species of "Chelyocarpus" are native to the western Amazon, while the fourth is from western Colombia. "Chelyocarpus chuco" is found in Brazil and Bolivia, "C. ulei" in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil, "C. repens" near Iquitos, Peru, and "C. dianeurus" is found in the Pacific lowlands of  Colombia. Uses. The leaves of "Chelyocarpus chuco" are used for thatch and to weave hats. The woolly covering of the leaf sheaths of "C. dianeurus" are used to stuff pillows, and salt is extracted from the trunks of "C. ulei".