Carludovica drudei

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Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. Photo by Reinaldo Aguilar, edric.
Carludovica drudei
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Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. Photo by Reinaldo Aguilar, edric.
Scientific Classification
Genus: Carludovica
Species: drudei
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
America
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Morphology
Habit: Solitary, but acaulescent.
Leaf type: Costapalmate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
Carludovica Palm, Jungle Drum.


Habitat and Distribution

Central America, Peru and Colombia. Occasional, in the forest, usually along streams, pos­sibly preferring steep banks. Flowers in June. The fruits mature from July to October. Distinguished by having the leaf lobes toothed much less than half way to the base. Lowland forests in Mexico (Chiapas and the Yucatan Peninsula), Costa Rica, Panama, and possibly Colombia. In Panama, known from tropical moist forest, on both slopes in the Canal Zone and in Chiriqui and Darien.

Description

Large, acaulescent Palm, 2-3 m tall. Petioles to 2.5 m long, terete, vaginate only near base; blades to 1.8 m wide, palmately and unequally 4-lobed, the lobes to 75 cm long, 35-60 cm wide at apex, with 9-16 teeth per lobe, the teeth 5-13 cm long, glabrous and shiny above, dull below; juvenile leaves entire, the apex. V-shaped,becoming 4-lobed, the lateral lobes more deeply divided. Peduncles 40-50 cm long; spathes 4, congested immediately below spadix; spadix narrowly cylindrical, 11-12 cm long, 1.5 cm thick in flower, to 22 cm long and 4.5 cm thick in fruit; staminate and pistillate flowers alternating spirally on spadix; staminate flowers in clusters of 4, lack­ing perianth, the stamens numerous, closely congested, obscuring all of pistillate flower but the staminodium, falling within a few days after anthesis; pistillate flowers sunken into fleshy axis of spadix; sepals 4, 5-6 mm long in flower, distinctly surpassing length of stigmas (to 8 mm long infruit); staminodium slender, flattened, very long and showy, white, falling soon after anthesis; stigmas 4, laterally compressed; fruiting spadices rupturing at ma­turity, beginning at apex, to expose bright orange matrix with embedded fruits. Fruits oblong to rounded, about 10 mm long, 6-8 mm broad; seeds numerous, ± ovoid, about 2 mm long, flattened. (The Smithsonian Tropical Institute). Editing by edric. (From the Spanish).

A member of the family Cyclanthaceae, this is a look alike "palm". Used commercially as the Panama hat palm. There are four species to this genus, divergens, drudei, palmata, and rotundifolia. The divergens has ethnobotany applications, as a possible MAOI inhibitor.

Etymology: Carludovica (named after Charles IV. of Spain, and Louisa, his queen). A genus of low-growing, palm-like, stove plants. Flowers of separate sexes, in squares arranged very close together in a spiral manner, and forming cylindrical spikes. Leaves stiff, plaite and deeply cut into from two to five division. The species are very ornamental, and several are eminently adapted for tropical gardening. They are easily grown with the usual routine of stove management, thriving in a compost of two parts peat and one of sandy loam; a liberal supply of water is needed.

Culture

Comments and Curiosities

Photos in Image Gallery, in habitat, edric.

External Links

References

Special thanks to Geoff Stein, (Palmbob) for his hundreds of photos, edric.

Special thanks to Dr. John Dransfield, Dr. Bill Baker & team, for their volumes of information and photos, edric.


Many Special Thanks to Ed Vaile for his long hours of tireless editing and numerous contributions.

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