Desmoncus

The genus extends from Mexico in the north to Brazil and Bolivia in the south, with two species present in the southeastern Caribbean (Trinidad and the Windward Islands).

Twenty-three of the 24 species recognised by Andrew Henderson in his revision of the genus are climbers; only one, D. stans is free-standing.

[3]: 3 Desmoncus leaves are pinnately compound and are made up of a leaf sheath, petioles, rachis, and individual leaflets.

João Barbosa Rodrigues recognised 28 species in his 1903 work Setum Palmarum Brasiliensis.

In the 1940s, Liberty Hyde Bailey added 14 additional species to the genus Desmoncus.

Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius 's drawing of Desmoncus polyacanthos shows the features of the leaf (sheath, petiole, rachis, leaflets, and cirrus) and the inflorescence with its associated bract.
Most Desmoncus species climb using grappling hook -like structures called acanthophylls.