Chrysalidocarpus cabadae
"Cabada Palm"
Dypsis (DIP-sis) cabadae (kah-BAHD-eh) | |||||||
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La Habana Botanical Garden, Cuba. Photo by Jason Schoneman. | |||||||
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Contents
Habitat and Distribution
Comoros. Only known from cultivated plants; origin questionable.Description
Clustering palm in tufts of up to 14 stems. STEMS to 10 m tall, to 9 cm in diam.; internodes 9-12.7 cm long, smooth, glossy, green, nodal scars prominent, pale. LEAVES about 10 in the crown, arching distally; sheath 50-76 cm long, bright green with a glaucous bloom, sparsely dotted with reddish fimbriate scales but glabrescent, with square shoulders; petiole 25-33 cm long (-60 cm in young shoots) with a prominent callus pad at the base, glabrous, channelled, 1.7-2 x 2-2.2 cm diam. proximally, 2-2.3 x 1.7-1.9 cm distally; rachis to 1.7 m long, green adaxially, yellowish abaxially, glabrous, in mid-leaf 1-1.3 cm wide, slightly keeled; leaflets regular, 24 (in young plants)-60 on each side of the rachis, those on opposite sides of the rachis, depending on climate, and growing conditions, range anywhere from an angle of 45° to 120° with each other, dark green, shiny, the proximal 42-57 x 1.6-2.1 cm, median 51-59 x 1.8-2.3 cm, distal 6-27 x 0.5-1.6 cm, midrib yellowish abaxially, with one or a few ramenta (1-4 mm long) proximally, otherwise glabrous, waxy, midrib and marginal veins prominent, apices acute. INFLORESCENCE interfoliar, branched to 3 orders, about 1.5 m long, erect, green; peduncle 59-69 cm long, with dense to sparse minute rusty scales, proximally 4-5 x 1.2-2 cm, distally 1.5-2 x 1-1.2 cm in diam.; prophyll green or glaucous, 44-52 cm long, 3.7-5 cm wide,read more |
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borne at 11-13.5 cm above the base of the peduncle, splitting obliquely at the apex for about 50%, with dense to sparse minute rusty scales; peduncular bract green or glaucous, inserted at 29-34 cm from the base of the peduncle, 40-54 cm long, 4 cm wide, splitting on one side, closed for a 3 cm beak, with dense to sparse minute rusty scales, eventually deciduous; rachis about 70 cm long, glabrous, with 20-22 branched and 8-10 unbranched first order branches, the proximal of these with a rachis of up to 40 cm; rachillae 8-18 cm long, about 1 mm diam., glabrous; triads distant. STAMINATE FLOWERS with sepals green, 1.6-2.1 x 1.8-2.5 mm; petals yellow-green, connate for about 0.8 mm, free for 2.2-2.6 x 1.6-2.1 mm; stamens 6, biseriate (offset c. 0.4 mm), the filaments 2.2-2.6 mm long, thin, the anthers 1.6-1.7 x 0.8-1 mm, versatile, the locules parallel; pistillode white, columnar, about 3 mm long. PISTILLATE FLOWERS with sepals 1.4-1.7 x 1.8-2.2 mm; petals 2.2-2.7 x 2-2.8 mm; staminodes 0.3-0.4 mm; ovary not seen. FRUIT ellipsoid, scarlet, 9-12 x 4-6 mm, apex rounded; exocarp smooth, mesocarp thin and fleshy and fibrous, endocarp ± adherent to the seed, fibrous, anastomosing. SEED ellipsoid, 8-9 x 4-5 mm, pointed at the base, rounded at the apex; endosperm homogeneous, embryo lateral; raphe branches ascending from the base and loosely anastomosing. SEEDLING with eophyll bifid, occasionally with a few scales abaxially. (J. Dransfield and H. Beentje. 1995)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.
The affinities of this species seem to be with D. pembana from Pemba, but it is certainly not the same. (J. Dransfield and H. Beentje. 1995)/Palmweb. |
Culture
Cold Hardiness Zone: 10a
Comments and Curiosities
This species is widespread in cultivation, but unknown from the wild: it might be from Madagascar or the Comoro Islands.
D. cabadae is a clustering species that features dark green stems punctuated by nearly-white ringlike leaf scars. Over time it can reach 30 to 40 ft. in height and about 3½ in. in diameter. It became a much-desired alternative to D. lutescens when commercial production started in the 1980s. This palm has followed probably the most curious route of any Dypsis species to reach the United States. Stanley Kiem, now the last surviving founding member of the International Palm Society, brought it to Miami following a trip to Cuba in the 1950s. But it was unknown in Madagascar or nearby islands, where all other members of the species are endemic. Its origin eluded experts until recent years, when it was discovered in the Comoro Islands northwest of Madagascar. But how did D. cabadae get to Cuba in the first place? The best guess is that Dr. Cabada, for whom the palm was named, obtained it for his garden near Cienfuegos from a ship captain whom he had asked to collect palms from his various destinations around the tropics. The conservation status of this species has not yet been assessed for the IUCN Red List. (fairchildgarden.org)
Unusually, John Dransfield and Henk Beentje’s “Palms of Madagascar” tells us little about this palm: habitat, uses, distribution, local names and conservation status are all recorded as 'unknown'. While it has only very recently been rediscovered in the wild in rainforest on the Comoro Islands, it can be seen, albeit rarely, in cultivation in some private and botanic gardens, and should indeed be much more widely cultivated. It is a clustering species with leathery, glossy green leaves, scarlet red fruits, and slim, attractively ringed, slender, blueish green trunks. It requires a tropical or subtropical climate and also make an excellent houseplant when young. (RPS.com)
External Links
References
Phonetic spelling of Latin names by edric. Edit by João Santos Costa
Special thanks to Geoff Stein, (Palmbob) for his hundreds of photos.
Special thanks to Palmweb.org, Dr. John Dransfield, Dr. Bill Baker & team, for their volumes of information and photos.
Glossary of Palm Terms; Based on the glossary in Dransfield, J., N.W. Uhl, C.B. Asmussen-Lange, W.J. Baker, M.M. Harley & C.E. Lewis. 2008. Genera Palmarum - Evolution and Classification of the Palms. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. All images copyright of the artists and photographers (see images for credits).
Dransfield, J. & Beentje, H. 1995. The Palms of Madagascar. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and The International Palm Society.
Many Special Thanks to Ed Vaile for his long hours of tireless editing and numerous contributions.