Chamaedorea elegans

C. elegans is a slender, erect or infrequently decumbent palm, to 2 m tall or more but flowering when very small and less than 30 cm tall, then appearing stemless. Stem 0.8-1.5 cm diameter, green, densely ringed with prominent nodes, internodes 0.5-3 cm long. Leaves 5-8, spreading, pinnate, sheath 8-20 cm long, very obliquely open nearly to base and tubular only in lower 1/3, short ligule apically on either side of petiole, margins brownish and ragged, light green or whitish below margin, longitudinally greenstriate-nerved, petiole 10-40 cm long, slender, grooved and green above, rounded and pale below, rachis 15-60 cm long, very slender, 4-sided, angled and green above, rounded below with narrow yellow band extending onto petiole, pinnae 11-21 on each side of rachis, 15-30 ? 1-3 cm, linear to narrowly lanceolate, long-acuminate, contracted basally, thin, dark green, midrib prominent and pale, elevated or keeled above, 1-2 less prominent primary nerves on each side of midrib, secondaries numerous, faint.;Inflorescences erect, shorter than or equal to or greatly exceeding leaves, peduncles 15-90 cm long, 5-9 mm wide at base, ± flattened, 4-6 mm wide at apex, rounded, green where exposed in flower, red-orange in fruit. Staminate with 4-7 bracts, uppermost exceeding peduncle, largest to 35 cm long, acuminate and bifid apically, fibrous or ± papery, rachis 1.5-20 cm long, longitudinally ridged or angled, green, rachillae 5-35, lower ones the longest, these to 15 cm long, becoming progressively shorter toward apex of rachis, 2 mm diameter, spreading, simple or branched, sharply angled, green. Pistillate similar to that of staminate but with 6-10 bracts, rachis slightly shorter, flexuous, orange in fruit, rachillae fewer in number and shorter than those of staminate, to 10 cm long, ± stiff, green in flower, red-orange in fruit. Staminate flowers in remote to moderate spirals, 3 ? 4 mm, depressed-globose, yellow, aromatic, nerved when dry, sessile or slightly sunken in elliptic depressions, calyx 0.75-1 ? 2-2.5 mm, moderately lobed, green, petals 2.5 ? 2 mm, connate, corolla opening by a 3-angled pore apically, fleshy, stamens 1.5-2 mm long, filaments connate, whitish, anthers 0.75-1 mm long, entire, yellow, pistillode equal to or slightly exceeding corolla, 6-angled, flared slightly apically, pale yellow-green. Pistillate flowers in remote spirals, 3 ? 2.75 mm, globose, yellow, nerved when dry, slightly sunken in elliptic depressions 1-1.5 mm long, calyx 1 ? 2 mm, deeply lobed, green, petals 2-2.5 ? 1.5-2 mm, connate, corolla opening by a 3-angled pore apically, thick, fleshy, fruits 4-7 mm diameter, globose, black, seeds 3-6 mm diameter, globose (Hodel, 1992).