Livistona jenkinsiana
ATTENTION: Livistona jenkinsiana & Livistona speciosa are not synonyms, it's the old name Saribus speciosus that's the syn., edric.
Livistona (liv-iss-TOH-nah) jenkinsiana (jehn-kens'-ee-AHN-ah) | |||||||
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Thailand. Photo by Dr. Anders S. Barfod. | |||||||
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Contents
Habitat and Distribution
India, Sikkim, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China and Thailand. In northeast India in the Naga Hills, Khasia Hills, Jainita Hills, Nowgong, Darjeerling Hills; in Siang, Lohit and Tirap Valleys in Arunachal Pradesh; and Gubro Purbat in Assam.Description
Hermaphroditic, Solitary palm. Trunk to 10 m tall, 15-23 cm in diameter; breast high, leaf scars prominent, narrow, roughened, light coloured, internodes narrow, dark coloured, petiole bases persistent in the lower portion. Leaves 20-50 in a ± globose crown; petiole 130-200 cm long, 20-25 mm wide distally, adaxially slightly concave, margins armed throughout with single or double retrorsely recurved reddish to brown spines 15-20 mm long, 10-12 mm wide at the base, base frequently swollen, spines reducing in size to tubercles toward the apex; leaf-base fibres moderately prominent, coarse, disintegrating or persistent; appendage to 25 cm long; lamina costapalmate, regularly segmented, ovate-reniform in outline, 105-130 cm long, 150-200 cm wide, adaxially shiny green, abaxially suglaucescent grey or bluish; lamina 8-16% of the segment length, 3-8 cm wide where the segments diverge, apical lobes rigid; parallel veins 9-10 each side of midrib; transverse veins thinner than parallel veins; hastula cordate. Inflorescences un-branched at the base, 60-100 cm long, not extending beyond the limit of the crown, branched to 3 orders; partial inflorescences 3-6; prophyll 30-45 cm long, woody, keeled; peduncular bract(s) lacking; rachis bracts loosely tubular, reddish-brown, glabrous, expanded distally into lanceolate acuminate lobes, sometimes longitudinally split, scurfy to glabrous; rachillae 10-30 cm long, 3-4 mm wide, rigid, yellow-green, puberulous. Flowers in clusters of 3-5, sessile, greenish cream, with inconspicuous bracteoles; sepals fused basally, fleshy, 1.2-4 mm long, 1.3-1.5 mm wide, lobes broadly ovate, with thin and subhyaline margins; petals basally fused, deltoid, acute, 2.5-4 mm long, 2.5-3 mm wide; stamens with basally fused filaments, thick and short, contracted into elongate apices, connective very short, narrow; carpel turbinate-obconical, yellow, distinctly sculptured, and contracted into a short trisulcate, filiform style, stigma simple. Fruit globose to reniform, 19- 28 mm long, 16-25 mm in diam., somewhat asymmetrical, apically rounded, slightly tapered below to an acute base, leaden blue to dark bluish-purple; epicarp very thin, with scattered lenticellular pores; suture line extends full length of the fruit, marked with lip-like structures; mesocarp succulent, moderately fibrous or lacking fibres; endocarp woody, brittle, cinnamon brown inside, 0.5-1 mm wide; pedicel 3-6 mm long, 2.5-4 mm wide. Seed globose, 17-20 mm in diam., slightly flattened on one side; intruded broadly and deeply by the testa; embryo sublateral. Eophyll 7-ribbed. (Dowe, J.L.)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.
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Livistona jenkinsiana was first described by Griffith (1845), based on observations at Gubro and a collection made in 1836 from Assam by the British Commissioner of Assam, Major-General F. Jenkins (1793-1866), and named in his honour. The type is in BR. Martius (1849) published the orthographic variation L. jenkinsii and provided a description of the inflorescence and flowers based on information given to him by Griffith. Griffith (1850) provided an expanded description, with illustrations (Plates 226A and 226B) of a leaf, a partial inflorescence, flowers and fruit. Livistona jenkinsiana is a moderate canopy palm to 10 m tall; leaves are large and regularly segmented; segment apices are rigid, and with a bifurcate cleft to 16% of the segment length; the inflorescence is unbranched, not extending beyond the limit of the crown, and with up to 6 partial inflorescences; bracts are loosely tubular; flowers are greenish cream; fruit are globose to reniform, to 28 mm long to 25 mm wide, and leaden blue to dark bluish purple at maturity. (Dowe, J.L.)/Palmweb. Palm tree up to 20 m tall. Stem 25–30 cm diam. Crown with 30–50 leaves. Leaf sheath 50–60 cm long, breaking up in fibrous mesh; petiole 200–260 cm long, armed with basally swollen up to 20 mm long, recurved spines; blade almost circular, flattened at first, becoming wavy 260–280 cm long, divided in 90–100 single-fold segments, lustrous green above, glaucous green below. Inflorescence branched to 3 orders, peduncle 25–30 cm long, prophyll 30–45 cm long, peduncular bract partly contained within prophyll; rachis 120–130 cm long, first order branches 4–6, with numerous 10–30 cm long, rigid rachillae. Flowers in clusters of 3–5, sepals 2–4 mm long, petals 3–4 mm long. Fruit 2.5–3 cm long, globose to reniform, leaden blue. Seed coat intrusion apical. (Palms of Thailand) |
Culture
A plant of tropical regions, it can also be grown in more or less frost-free temperate and subtropical climates. It is found in areas of high rainfall, which can be with or without a distinct dry season. Grows best in a sunny, moist, but well drained positionHardiness: zone, 10a. To -1 °C (30.2 °F)
Seed - sow in deep containers in order to avoid root constriction, planting two seeds in each container. The seed of this species has a longer viability than that of most palms. If necessary, thin the seedlings to the best plant and grow them on until large enough to plant out.
Comments and Curiosities
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Phenology: Flowers Jul-Aug; fruits Oct-Nov.? Conservation: Near threatened. (Dowe, J.L.)/Palmweb. Uses: Leaves are used for thatch and hats (Lepchas tribe of northeast India and Sikkim). The endosperm, presumably prior to maturity, is reported to be consumed. Himalayan fan palm is a solitary-stemmed, evergreen palm tree with a thin, unbranched stem, growing up to 10 metres tall. The tree is harvested from the wild for its leaves, which are used locally for thatch and are woven into hats etc. The trunk is used for building structures in water. It is occasionally cultivated in small plantations for this purpose in India and China. Small plantations are maintained for leaf harvesting. The seeds are eaten as a substitute for betel nut, and in Hainan the fruits are used medicinally. (efloras.org) "Very slow grower, even in the tropics and most palms you see in collections are still seedlings today. Pretty marginal here in So Cal and I have had no luck with this species." (Geoff Stein) Arguably, this stately and rare species from the montane forests of northeastern India, Burma and Thailand (to 1200m / 4000ft a.s.l.) is the most beautiful of all the Livistona. It produces a dense crown of very large, flat, circular leaves that are only shallowly split, and a tall, columnar, gray trunk. Suitable for a range of climates from warm temperate to tropical, it will undoubtedly be hugely popular and much in demand. The marble sized seeds begin germinating after just a few days! Hopefully, our introduction will mean that this stunning palm will, in the years to come, be a little more common in gardens around the globe. ((RPS.com) |
- IMAGE GALLERY
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).
Dowe, J.L., A taxonomic account of Livistona R.Br. (Arecaceae). A taxonomic account of Livistona R.Br. (Arecaceae).
Many Special Thanks to Ed Vaile for his long hours of tireless editing and numerous contributions.