Eugeissona brachystachys

Eugeissona (yoo-gee-SOHN-ah) brachystachys (brah-kih-STAHK-ees)
Kuala Teku, Malaysia. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.
Scientific Classification
Genus: Eugeissona (yoo-gee-SOHN-ah) Species: brachystachys (brah-kih-STAHK-ees)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
Asia
Morphology
Habit: Clustering Leaf type: Pinnate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
None.

Habitat and Distribution

Malaya.

Photo-Malaysian Biological Diversity.

Description

A bush-palm smaller than E. tristis. Leaves erect, 14 to 20 feet long, the petiole terete, 12 feet long, an inch through, glaucous green finely speckled with dull red, with two rows of short spines, one on the back and one on the front; spines black, half an inch or less long, in pairs, one pointing upwards, the other downwards; leaflets deep green, alternate, lanceolate, caudate, broad, base shortly narrowed, 2 feet long, 3 inches wide; tail 4 inches long, midrib raised, nerves 14; rachis, back rounded, upper surface flat. Flower-spike about 3 feet tall; peduncle short, stout. Spathes broad, lanceolate, cuspidate, clasping the stem, base green above, red, scuffy, with short erect black spines increasing in length towards the apex; cusp acuminate, 6 inches long; upper sheaths shorter, about 15 in number. Lower flowers panicled, upper branches racemose, on peduncles of dark brown ovate bracts; peduncles .50 inch long. Calyx cylindric, irregularly lobed, green. Petals narrow, linear, acuminate, 2 inches long, green. Fruit ovoid, shortly broadly stipitate at base; apex abruptly beaked; beak half an inch long, obscurely trigonous; scales ovate, triangular, obtuse, margins paler, thin, shortly fimbriate. On the drier part of the hill at Kuala Teku. A very distinct plant from the only other Peninsular species, E. tristis, Griff., in its smaller clumps, broad leaflets, and short inflorescence. It only occurs on the drier parts of the hills and woods at Kwala Teku. Editing by edric.

Culture

Cold Hardiness Zone: 11

Comments and Curiosities

Uses: While not common in cultivation, they are used extensively by locals for a variety of purposes. The sago made from the trunks forms the staple of the Punan diet, and the seed's endosperm and the pollen are also known to be consumed. The leaves are used in roof construction, various thatchings, and the manufacture of blinds. The stilt roots of some species are made into walking sticks and toys, while the petioles are fashioned into darts for blowgun hunting.