Difference between revisions of "Dypsis marojejyi"

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Dransfield, J. & Beentje, H. 1995. The Palms of Madagascar. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and The International Palm Society.
 
Dransfield, J. & Beentje, H. 1995. The Palms of Madagascar. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and The International Palm Society.
  
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image:D159bf30-273b-48d4-8465-af1db5984b01z.jpg|Marojejy, Madagascar. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.
 
image:D159bf30-273b-48d4-8465-af1db5984b01z.jpg|Marojejy, Madagascar. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.
 
image:B33ab058-7cb4-4e1b-9164-69bc82dccba0z.jpg|Marojejy, Madagascar. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.
 
image:B33ab058-7cb4-4e1b-9164-69bc82dccba0z.jpg|Marojejy, Madagascar. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.

Revision as of 23:48, 29 April 2014

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Dean Ouer's Garden, Big Island, Hawaii. edric.
Dypsis (DIP-sis)
marojejyi
(mahr-oh-jehj'-ih-ee)
D159bf30-273b-48d4-8465-af1db5984b01z.jpg
Marojejy, Madagascar. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.
Scientific Classification
Genus: Dypsis (DIP-sis)
Species:
marojejyi
(mahr-oh-jehj'-ih-ee)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
Africa
Africa.gif
Morphology
Habit: Solitary
Leaf type: Pinnate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
Menamosona beratyraty (Betsimisaraka).


Habitat and Distribution

Endemic to Madagascar. Only known from the Marojejy massif. Submontane rain forest; 700-1100 m. May be locally abundant.

Description

Squat solitary palm. TRUNK 3-6 m tall, 20-30 cm. in diam., near the crown about 20 cm. in diam.; stilt roots present near the base (always?); internodes about 2 cm. LEAVES 18-20 in the crown, the upper part of the trunk with marcescent leaves and sheath remnants, litter accumulating; sheath 20 cm long, open, not forming a crownshaft, with dense rusty-brown pubescence, about 40 cm wide; petiole 0-10 cm, densely reddish-pubescent, 3-3.5 x 2 cm diam.; rachis 3-4 m long, in mid-leaf 1.1-2.3 cm wide, reddish-tomentose; pinnae about 60 on each side of the rachis, in groups of 3-6 and fanned within the groups, stiff, the group interval 4-9 cm, bright to dark green, the proximal 29-41 x 0.3-0.4 cm, median 45-70 x 2.5-5 cm (interval 0.5-2 cm), distal 15-35 x 0.7-2.7 cm, the apical pair joined for up to 3 cm and multi-fold (always?), main veins 3-5, with ramenta on the main veins, and with reddish scattered scales on the minor veins, apices unequally acute, the distal ones praemorse, young leaf liver-coloured. INFLORESCENCE bud, cylindrical and fat (0.6 mm. in diam.), anthers 1.8-2 x 0.8-1 mm, versatile; pistillode c. 1.3 x 0.6-0.9 mm. PISTILLATE FLOWERS with sepals 1.3-2.5 x 1.7-3.5 mm; petals 2.7-4.6 x 2.5-5 mm; staminodes six, 0.2-0.6 mm; gynoecium (in bud) c. 2.5 x 0.8 mm. FRUIT pale yellow-green, ellipsoid to slightly obovoid, 22-25 x 14-18 mm, the apex rounded, pustulate; endocarp with densely anastomosing fibres. SEED slightly obovoid, 18-20 x 13-16 mm, with pointed base and rounded apex; endosperm ruminate, the intrusions dense, 2-5 mm deep. Editing by edric.

At first we thought this litter-accumulating palm belonged in a group with the other litter-collectors, such as D. perrieri. But the structure of the inflorescence indicates it is closer to taxa such as D. madagascariensis, D. coursii and D. rivularis. (J. Dransfield and H. Beentje. 1995).

Culture

Prefers a climate that is void of excessive heat. Hot summer temperatures will kill this plant very quickly, as many people in South Florida and inland areas of California have found out. Dosen't seem to mind staying on the dry side during cool periods, possibly a trick to keeping them from rotting out when young.

Comments and Curiosities

This a most distinctive squat robust understory palm, abundant on the broad ridges in submontane forest on Marojejy. It has a short trunk, and leaves that do not fall off neatly, the crown tending to trap litter when young. In this respect it resembles D. perrieri but the leaves, while being about the same size, have grouped pinnae, and rather plumose, and the inflorescence is quite different, being much more diffusely branched. Roots from neighbouring trees tend to grow into the litter that accumulates in the crown, and as the palm grows, these zigzag tree roots continue to grow from sheath to sheath, eventually being exposed. Ferns are also abundant in the crown of this palm. It somewhat resembles D. coursii but has a much more robust stem, with much larger leaves and longer, narrower pinnae. The species name is derived from the type locality, Marojejy. As far as we know, this species is not in cultivation. (J. Dransfield and H. Beentje. 1995) Editing by edric.

Conservation: Vulnerable. Distribution restricted to a single, albeit protected, area.

First collected in 1959 on the Marojejy massif in northeastern Madagascar, this spectacular palm remained in obscurity until it was rediscovered in the late 1980's and formally described as recently as 1995. Independent of that it was introduced into cultivation called the "Madagascar foxtail", as which it has attained an almost mythical status among palm collectors. As far as plants in cultivation are concerned, there has been much confusion about this palm and a similar and closely related species from Madagascar, D. coursii. In its native habitat in submontane rainforest on broad mountain ridges between 700 and 1100 m (2300 and 3600 ft.), it appears as a slightly odd, somewhat messy species whose ascending crown of plumose leaves collects leaf litter from surrounding trees. Nevertheless, it cleans up exceedingly well and has huge potential as a cultivated plant, sporting beautiful reddish-brown leafbases, a relatively short but robust trunk and bronzy new leaf with wide, grouped leaflets that have neatly curled tips. It is one of the more difficult to propagate palms from Madagascar. Wild collected seeds have a relatively low germination rate and seedlings are prone to damping off, so preventative treatment with a fungicide may be advised. (RPS.com), edric.

This is a tillering palm, it exhibits saxophone style root growth (it has a heel), keep top third of heel above soil elevation!

External Links

References

Phonetic spelling of Latin names by edric.

Special thanks to Geoff Stein, (Palmbob) for his hundreds of photos, edric.

Special thanks to Palmweb.org, Dr. John Dransfield, Dr. Bill Baker & team, for their volumes of information and photos, edric.

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).

Dransfield, J. & Beentje, H. 1995. The Palms of Madagascar. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and The International Palm Society.


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

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