Licuala ahlidurii

Licuala (lik-oo-AH-lah) ahlidurii (all-ee-DOO-ree)
Peninsular Malaysia Terengganu, Dungun, Bukit. Photo-Malaysia Biological Diversity
Scientific Classification
Genus: Licuala (lik-oo-AH-lah) Species: ahlidurii (all-ee-DOO-ree)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
Asia
Morphology
Habit: Clustering Leaf type: Palmate, divided.
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
None.

Habitat and Distribution

Malaysia. Peninsular Malaysia Terengganu, Dungun, Bukit Bauk F.R.

Bukit Bauk, Trengganu, Malaysia. Dr. Dransfield giving scale. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.

Description

Acaulescent, clustering palm. Cluster may have up to 7 or more shoots, 5 to 10 leaves to each crown; petiole 1 to 2 m length, base of petiole reddish brown in colour; frond diameter 60 to 120 cm across, semi-circular in shape; leaf surface shiny. Infructescence about 1.2 m long with 89 cm scape. Lowland dipterocarp forest. This species is very common on the foot of Bukit Bauk, dominating the forest floor especially in the Drybalanops aromatica stand. It disappears at higher elevation. Grows sympatrically with the acaulescent Licuala glabra and in some other areas Leaf material taken for DNA extraction by Christine D. Bacon Colorado State University 20 May 2009. (Jstor.org) Editing by edric

Culture

Tropical Moist Forest, Cold Hardiness Zone: 10b

Comments and Curiosities

Licuala ahlidurii was only described in 1997. The species has a very restricted distribution. It is only known from Bukit Bauk Forest Reserve, Terengganu and nowhere else in the world, i.e. it is endemic to this particular forest reserve. Here it completely dominates the forest floor. In Bukit Bauk, the species grows sometimes sympatrically with six other Licualas, L. glabra, L. bayana, L. ferruginea, L. khoonmengii, L. terengganuensis and L. malajana, making the locality one of the richest diversity for Licuala in the world. Licuala ahlidurii has very variable frond dissection, with the mid-segment slightly larger that the rest of the segments to individuals with large mid-segments and very narrow lateral segments. This makes the species particularly attractive for ornamental display. The species was named in honour of Dr. John Dransfield as an expert in thorny palms (i.e. in Malay ahli duri). (Malaysia Biological Diversity)