Livistona drudei
Livistona (liv-iss-TOH-nah) drudei (drood'-eh) | |||||||
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Huntington Gardens, Pasadena California. Photo by Geoff Stein | |||||||
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Common names | |||||||
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Contents
Habitat and Distribution
Australia. Queensland. Coastal and near-coastal areas between Kurrimine Beach and Townsville, and with a disjunction to Conway Ra. near Proserpine. Grows on the landward side of mangroves, in foredune swales, open forest and swamp forest on coastal plains and along the margins of streams and estuaries at low elevations, 0-100 m alt. (Dowe, J.L.)/Palmweb.
Description
Functionally dioecious palm. Trunk to 28 m tall, 15-20 cm in diameter, breast high, leaf scars narrow, pale grey; internodes broad. Leaves 30-60 in a globose or conical crown; petiole 150-230 cm long, 15-25 mm wide, adaxially ridged, purple in basal portion, green distally, margins with single, curved reddish spines larger and closer in the proximal portion; leaf-base fibres moderately prominent, coarse, persistent; lamina costapalmate, regularly segmented, ± circular, 100-150 cm long, coriaceous, adaxially dark green, abaxially lighter green, glossy; lamina divided for 60-70% of its length, with 60-84 segments, depth of apical cleft about 60% of the segment length, apical lobes attenuate, pendulous; parallel veins 7 each side of midrib; transverse veins thinner than parallel veins. Inflorescences unbranched at the base, not sexually dimorphic, 150-300 cm long, not extending beyond the limit of the crown, branched to 3 orders; 7-8 partial inflorescences; peduncle subterete, 15-25 mm in diam.; prophyll glabrous; peduncular bract 1, tightly tubular, glabrous; rachis bracts tightly tubular, glabrous, apices with acuminate lobes; rachillae 1-8 cm long, pubescent. Flowers solitary or in clusters of 2-5, funnel-shaped, 1.7-2.2 mm long, cream to yellow; sepals narrowly triangular, 1.3-1.5 mm long, fleshy, subacute; petals broadly ovate, 1.7-2 mm long, fleshy, apexthickened; stamens about 1.5 mm long. Fruit globose to pyriform, 10-12 mm long, 10-11 mm in diam., semi-glossy purple-black; epicarp with scattered lenticellular pores; suture line extends for about ½ length of fruit, marked with lip-like structures; mesocarp thin, fibrous; endocarp thin, brittle; pedicel 1-2 mm long. Seed ellipsoid, 8-9 mm long. Eophyll 5-ribbed. (Dowe, J.L.)/Palmweb.
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Livistona drudei was first mentioned informally by Mueller (1878) as "...palme nunc pro speciei vel varietatis distinctione nomen Doctoris Oscaris Drude impono...", followed by the use of the name L. drudei in the index of the same volume. Drude (1893) reviewed this taxon and applied a brief description, thus validating the name. However no specimens were directly linked to either Mueller's or Drude?s treatments, although Mueller (1878) mentioned a specimen from "Rockingham's Bay" that Wendland & Drude (1875) had used, incorrectly, as reference in their treatment of L. inermis. The lectotype chosen by Rodd (1998) is the "Rockingham's Bay" specimen Dallachy s.n.. The mention of the "valley of the Mackay" on a slip accompanying the type is a reference to present-day Tully R., of which Mackay R. was an earlier name; a Mt Mackay still exists at this location though. This does not refer to the present-day Mackay R., which is associated with the city of Mackay in central Queensland. Beccari (1931) provided a thorough description based on additional specimens, but did not cite the Dallachy specimen. Rodd (1998) interpreted Beccari's (1931) description as formalising the name. However, as the Dallachy specimen was not cited by Beccari, I have chosen Drude's (1893) treatment as the valid place of publication of the name. Livistona drudei is a tall canopy palm to 28 m tall; leaves are large and regularly segmented; segment apices are pendulous, and with a bifurcate cleft to 60% of the segment length; the petiole bases are distinctively purple; the inflorescence is unbranched, not extending beyond the limit of the crown, and with up to 8 partial inflorescences; bracts are tightly tubular; flowers are cream to yellow; fruit are globose to pyriform, to 12 mm long by 11 mm wide, and semi-glossy purple black at maturity. (Dowe, J.L.)/Palmweb. Editing by edric. |
Culture
Sunny, moist position. Fast growing. Hardiness: zone, 9b
Comments and Curiosities
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Phenology: Flowers Aug-Dec; fruits Dec-June. Conservation: Endangered (IUCN, 2006; Dowe, 2007). (Dowe, J.L.)/Palmweb. The Genus Livistona is named for Patrick Murray, a 17th century Baron of Livingstone; von Mueller named the species drudei for the German botanist Carl Georg Oscar Drude (1852 – 1933). Although Drude was some 27 years younger than von Mueller, and, as far as I know, never visited Australia, he quite probably corrsponded with von Mueller, who was a formidable correspondent: he corresponded with scientists and collectors all over the world, and it has been estimated that 3,000 letters written by him in one year was not an unusual number. I presume that the ‘Halifax’ of the common name is from Halifax Bay, near Ingham. This Bay was named by Captain Cook in 1770, and is part of the palm’s native habitat. This is our own local palm. It occurs naturally in scattered and discontinuous populations in the coastal lowland from the Kennedy River (north-west of Cooktown) south to Proserpine, and also on some of the nearby islands, including Hinchinbrook Island. It is usually found in melaleuca swamp-forest and fringes of gallery- or tropical-rainforest bordering on eucalyptus forest. It grows in areas with boulders, on stream banks on flat coastal plains. It is mostly confined to streams that have a continuous dry season flow, or that at least persist as soaks. It is also found in similar habitats above the upper limit of mangroves, near sheltered estuaries. The palms appear to be functionally dioecious, with flowering occurring in the dry season, August to December. It is a tall palm, growing up to about 20 m in height, with very finely divided leaflets that hang in ‘ribbons’ on adult plants. The petioles have deep red-brown coloration on their bases, and this helps to differentiate between this species and the very similar Livistona decipiens. The petioles are very sharply armed – take care when approaching this palm. The trunk gets very smooth, as it does not retain thatch; but the very end of the leaf base does not detach, and leaves an interesting pattern on the trunk. The tree is listed as ‘vulnerable’ under the Nature Conservation Act (Queensland) of 1994. Its habitat is at risk, mainly through land clearing, and in many areas it still persists only on private land. Most specimens are now found only between Mission Beach and Townsville. (somemagneticislandplants.com) "Tall ribbon palm, very similar in adult appearance to Livinstona decipiens. This plant is a good and dependable grower in most areas of So Cal and is fairly rapid (not as fast as L decipiens, but close). Has very deeply split leaves that hang in 'ribbons' on adult plants. Petioles have deep red-brown coloration at their bases making them look a bit different than L decipiens. Very sharply armed petioles- careful when pruning. Leaf bases near base of tree tend to be retained as in some other LIvistona species." (Geoff Stein) |
External Links
- Glossary of Palm Terms
- MODERN BOTANICAL LATIN
- "Just To Be Clear"
- Click on Arecaceae, for list of photos
- http://keys.trin.org.au/key-server/data/0e0f0504-0103-430d-8004-060d07080d04/media/Html/taxon/Livistona_drudei.htm
- Revision of Livistona (Arecaceae) in Australia, By Dr. A.N. Rodd
- Australian Palms, By John Leslie Dowe
- http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/44875-nice-mature-livistona-drudei-specimen/
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB666PDgP8Q
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.