Cyrtostachys loriae

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Cytostachys (sihr-toh-STAHK-iss)
loriae (LOR-ee-eh)
C. elegans3.jpg
Scientific Classification
Genus: Cytostachys (sihr-toh-STAHK-iss)
Species:
loriae (LOR-ee-eh)
Synonyms
Cyrtostachys microcarpa (See comments)
Native Continent
Oceania
Oceania.gif
Morphology
Habit: Solitary
Leaf type: Pinnate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
Papua Indonesian: tnang nyi (Sentani, Jayapura); gap (Marap, Tami R.); terep/terrip (Yei/Je, Merauke); Nibung (Indonesian dialect in Papua, also used for other tree palms). Papua New Guinea: yomberi (Timbunke, Sepik); yowoh (Waskuk, Sepik); hek/he-ek (Amele, Madang); terep (Jal, Madang); apaku (Mekeo, Maipa); flim (Mianmin); lobu (Wapi, Marok); mun (Orme, Walwali); wai’eba (Kutubu); toono-i (Bougainville Island); a ikul (New Ireland Island). Solomon Islands: kwara’ae (Aatarae).

Habitat and Distribution

Cyrtostachys loriae is endemic to Bismarck Archipelago, New Guinea, and the
Heath forest, Mt. Jaya, West Papua, Indonesia. Photo by Dr. William J. Baker, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.
Solomon Islands, Cyrtostachys loriae is a widespread species, in the Papuasian region, distributed from Kepala Burung (Bird Head’s Peninsula) in the west, to Solomon Islands in the east. widespread in lowland swamp and rainforest, lower montane heath forests, and tropical savannas, from the Bird's Head Peninsula of New Guinea, eastward to the Solomon Islands to 400 m. (1300 ft.).

Description

It has a smooth trunk, and can can grow to a hight 100 ft. tall and reach 12 in. in diameter. The spherical crown is held by a yellowish to light green crownshaft. The large leathery leaves, are whitish below and have practically no leaf stalks.

Robust, solitary palm to 10 – 30 m. Stem 11.5 – 30 cm in diam., brownish-grey to whitish below and green to olive-green above, nodal scars conspicuous, internodes 3 – 30 cm long, crown hemispherical in outline. Leaves 8 – 14 per crown, leaves spreading, 250 – 480 cm long (including petiole); sheath tubular, 112.5 – 180 cm long, 25 – 68 cm wide, forming distinct crownshaft, 125 – 200 cm long, pale yellow to light green; petiole almost missing to short (1 – 10 cm long), 3 – 5.5 cm wide and 1 – 2.8 cm thick at the base, with thin or thick brown to whitish-purple lepidote indumentum; rachis with similar indumentum as the petiole; leaflets regularly arranged, leathery, 76 – 189 leaflets on each side, middle leaflets 80 – 152 × 3.4 – 6.8 cm, apical leaflets 14 – 50 × 0.8 – 2 cm, briefly pointed and sometimes notched at apices, green, discolorous when dried, glaucous adaxially, glaucous to whitish abaxially, fine brown ramenta discontinuous along mid-vein on abaxial surface. Inflorescence infrafoliar, strongly divaricate, 43 – 150 cm long, up to 250 cm wide, branched to 3 orders, green to pale yellow, light brown to black when dried; peduncle very short to 10 cm; rachillae 25 – 88.5 cm long; 6 – 9 mm in diam., brown to rusty brown, calyx persistent after fruits fallen; 8 – 16 pits per 1 cm rachilla length (in various stages), pits 2 – 6 mm in diam., deep. Staminate flowers 2.5 – 4 × 2 – 3 mm; sepals 1.2 – 2.2 × 1.5 – 2.9 mm; petals 2 – 3 × 1.2 – 2.5 mm; stamens 9 – 13; filaments 0.7 – 3.5 × 0.1 – 0.2 mm; anthers 1 – 1.5 × 0.5 – 0.8 mm; pollen size, long axis 27 – 56 mm, short axis 25 – 48 mm, proximal wall thickness 1.5 – 5 mm, distal wall thickness 1 – 5 mm, tectum surface sparsely verrucate and gemmate, trichotomosulcate grains present; pistillode 0.7 – 1.7 × 0.2 – 1 (1 – 1.5 at the base) mm. Pistillate flowers 2 – 6 × 2.2 – 5.5 mm; sepals 2.5 – 5.2 × 2.1 – 6.2 mm; petals 1.5 – 5.2 × 1 – 5 mm; gynoecium 1 – 5 × 0.5 – 3.5 mm (including 3 recurved stigmas); staminodes triangular (3 – 4) to circular, membranous. Fruits 8 – 16 × 4 – 5 mm, ellipsoid to sickle-shaped, green to black; beak 0 – 2 mmlong. Seeds 5 – 8 × 2 – 5 × 2 – 5 mm, ellipsoid to ovoid, rounded apically and flattened basally. (Ch.D. Heatubun. 2009)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.

Cyrtostachys loriae, was the first species of the genus to be published from the Papuasian region. This palm is easily distinguished by its solitary and robust habit, spherical crown, pendulous pinnae, very short (– 10 cm. long), and almost non-existent petiole, and an inflorescence more robust than in other species, branched to 3 orders, with robust rachillae bearing large and deep pits. Re-examination of the type specimens of Cyrtostachys brassii, C. kisu, C. loriae, C. microcarpa, C. peekeliana and C. phanerolepis, revealed no significant differences among them, except those caused by differences in developmental stages, despite the inadequate nature of the specimens. Morphological variation among them is continuous, especially after comparison with more adequate specimens from recent collections.

Culture

Even though it would make a magnificent ornamental for the humid tropics, this species is little known in cultivation and only present in a handful of specialist collections. Several other Cyrtostachys have recently been reduced to synonymy with one variable Cyrtostachys loriae, namely C. brassii, C. kisu, C. microcarpa, C. peekeliana and C. phanerolepis. Cold Hardiness Zone: 10b

Comments and Curiosities



External Links

References

Phonetic spelling of Latin names by edric.

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).

Heatubun, Ch.D.2009. A monograph of Cyrtostachys (Arecaceae). Kew Bulletin 64: 67-94.

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).


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

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