Licuala bachmaensis

Licuala (lik-oo-AH-lah) bachmaensis (bahk-MY-ehn-siss)
Vietnam.
Scientific Classification
Genus: Licuala (lik-oo-AH-lah) Species: bachmaensis (bahk-MY-ehn-siss)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
Asia
Morphology
Habit: Clustering Leaf type: Pinnate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
La non

Habitat and Distribution

Endemic to central Vietnam in Quang Nam and Thua Thien-Hue, on slopes of mountains in broad-leafed,

evergreen,

Licuala bachmaensis, leaf showing deep indentations and middle few segments remaining joined at their apices. Vietnam. Photo by Nick C.

primary closed forest on sandstone,

shale, or granite rock, to 1150 m elevation, persisting in disturbed areas and grown in villages. (ANDREW J. HENDERSON Institute of Systematic Botany, New York Botanical Garden)

Description

Stems solitary, to 1.5 m tall, 15 cm in diam., covered with persistent leaf bases, often short and subterranean. Leaves 20; leaf sheaths not known; petioles 160–177 cm long, 0.6 cm wide near the apices, almost the entire length with widely spaced, straight, dark brown thorns to 0.5 cm long; blades 122–127 cm wide, split into 12–18 segments, these with straight sides; middle segment not split, petiolulate, not wider than the others, 63–64 cm long, 12–13 cm wide at the apex, the middle few segments remaining joined at their apices; indentations leading to adaxial folds 14–20 cm deep, those leading to abaxial folds 0.5 cm deep, indentations not deeper on lateral segments. Plants monoecious. Inflorescences to 340 cm long, erect above the leaves; prophylls 17 cm long; peduncles and rachis not known in their entirety, with to 11 partial inflorescences, these branched to 1 order, each subtended by a tubular, glabrous bract briefly split at the apex; rachillae 5–11 on each partial inflorescence, 13–33 cm long, 0.8 mm in diam., densely covered with golden-brown hairs, with floral stalks giving the rachillae a bumpy appearance; flowers solitary or in groups of 2 or 3; flower buds 2 mm long, depressed-globose; calyx 2 mm long, briefly 3-lobed at the apex, densely covered with brown hairs; corolla 1.5–1.8 mm long, split for one-half to one-third its length into 3, triangular petals, densely covered with appressed, silvery-brown hairs; stamens 6; staminal ring 0.5 mm long; filaments free for 0.1 mm; anthers 0.4 mm long, oblong, dorsifixed, versatile; pistil 1 mm long including a 0.5 mm long style, the ovules sparsely hairy near the apices. Fruits 1 cm long, 0.5 cm diam., ellipsoid, with perianth appressed to base of the fruit, red at maturity. (ANDREW J. HENDERSON Institute of Systematic Botany, New York Botanical Garden)

Notes: It is not clear that either Magalon (1930) or Gagnepain and Conrard (1937) were aware of this distinctive species, and it will not key in either work. It is distinguished from all other Vietnamese monoecious Licuala by its unique combination of leaves with deep (14–20 cm long) indentations leading to the adaxial folds, middle few segments remaining joined at their apices, and hairy ovules. (ANDREW J. HENDERSON Institute of Systematic Botany, New York Botanical Garden)

Culture

Cold Hardiness Zone: 10b

Comments and Curiosities

Uses: The leaves are used to make rain coats.