Basselinia pancheri

Basselinia (bas-seh-lin-EE-ah)
pancheri (pahn-KEHR-ee)

Crownshaft and flower spathe

Scientific Classification

Genus:	Basselinia (bas-seh-lin-EE-ah)
Species:	pancheri (pahn-KEHR-ee)

Synonyms

None set.

Native Continent

Oceania

Morphology

Habit:	Solitary
Leaf type:	Pinnate

Culture

Survivability index

Common names

Black Basselinia, Me Ori Basselinia

Habitat and Distribution

Basselinia pancheri is common on all of the Mainland.

Location: Nouvelle Calédonie (New Caledonia), photo by Maurice Laloum.

Habitat In the undergrowth of the rainforest. Substrate: On ground more or less deep or on scree, ultramafic substrate. Rainforests in the south, west and north-west New Caledonia.

Description

Solitary palm, rarely tufted, 10 m. high, with a trunk 2 to 10 cm. in diam., With or without leaf scars prominent, separated by inter-nodes very close together and sometimes adventitious roots at the base. 5-8 leaves per crown, long from 0.30 to 1.30 m, and ascendentes steep, then spread, with each side 6 to 20 pinnae rigid and very wrinkled, bright green above, scaly brownish below; petiole zero or 25 cm long scaly brownish; sheath of 14 to 55 cm., covered outside with scales of varying color: orange-red, brownish or black, an orange Brilant within. Phenology (flower): An inflorescence, 1-3 times branched, long persistent, well below the emerging leaves, stiff and very open scaly brownish or blackish, becoming grayish and glabrous with age. fruits. Fruit bilobed or reniform, 6-8 x 6-9 mm., shiny black when ripe, with the stigmatic residue displaced toward the middle, brown seeds, bilobed Often found, in savanna like areas. Trunk type: solitary, occasionally clustering, Hight: to 15m. Almost entire, stffly erect leaves, with very little splitting. Often seen, as one of the most attractive of the New Caledonian palms. Basselinia pancheri is a variable, robust, midsized palm with a slender green or gray trunk, topped by a prominent and very colorful crownshaft that can be anything from brown to dark red to purplish black. The leathery leaves have broad leaflets of different widths. Basselinia pancheri is widespread over most parts of New Caledonia, frequently in rainforests, but it is also found in disturbed habitats and open situations. It is one of the most adaptable species in this genus and will do well in most tropical and subtropical climates. This amazing form with a very compact crown is found at high altitude on Me Ori. Editing by edric.