Hydriastele kasesa

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Hydriastele (high-dree-Ah-STEL-eh)
kasesa (kah-SEH-sah)
HPU0810HKasesaFlowers.jpg
North coast of Maui, 330 ft/100 m elevaton, Hawaii. Photo by Mike Lock.
Scientific Classification
Genus: Hydriastele (high-dree-Ah-STEL-eh)
Species:
kasesa (kah-SEH-sah)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
Oceania
Oceania.gif
Morphology
Habit: Clustering, sometimes solitary.
Leaf type: Pinnate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
None.

Habitat and Distribution

Bismarck Archipelago, off the east coast of Papua New Guinea.
Flecker Botanic Gardens, Cairns. Photo by tanetahi.
Distribution:—New Britain and New Ireland in the Bismarck Archipelago.

Habitat:—Lowland tropical primary rainforest, occasionally on swampy ground or near stream banks, and premontane mixed forest on slopes and ridges, 0–800 m. PETER PETOE, CHARLIE D. HEATUBUN & WILLIAM J. BAKER Phytotaxa 370 (1) © 2018 Magnolia Press.

Description

Solitary or clustering palm forming clumps of as many as 15 stems, slender, to 6 m tall, bearing 6–8 leaves per crown. Stem 1.5–3.8 cm in diam. Leaf 70–150 cm long including petiole; sheath 15–30 cm long; petiole 15–40 cm; leaflets 6–13 per side, arranged irregularly, with a group of closely spaced leaflets in different planes in the middle of rachis, ± cuneate, truncately praemorse apically, ramenta seemingly lacking. Inflorescence 17–30 cm long including 2–4 cm peduncle, branched to 1 or 2 orders, protogynous; primary branches 5–10, to 23.5 cm long, bearing up to 3 rachillae each; triads opposite and decussate. Staminate flower 8 × 3–4 mm in bud (when dry); stamens 6. Pistillate flower about 2.5 × 2.5 mm in bud (when dry), with free sepals and free, ± rounded, low petals. Fruit ca. 12 × 9 mm when ripe, ovoid to subglobose, red, with inconspicuous stigmatic apical remains lacking encircling dark sclerotic zone. Seed ca. 6.7 × 5.4 mm (when dry), ovoid; endosperm ruminate. PETER PETOE, CHARLIE D. HEATUBUN & WILLIAM J. BAKER Phytotaxa 370 (1) © 2018 Magnolia Press.

Distribution:—New Britain and New Ireland in the Bismarck Archipelago.

Habitat:—Lowland tropical primary rainforest, occasionally on swampy ground or near stream banks, and premontane mixed forest on slopes and ridges, 0–800 m.


Notes:—Hydriastele kasesa is a slender understorey palm distinguished by its leaves with 6–13 irregularly arranged leaflets on each side of the rachis, leaf sheaths up to 30 cm long, and inflorescences bearing 5–10 primary branches. Hydriastele kasesa is most similar to H. wendlandiana to which it is no doubt closely related, but H. wendlandiana is usually taller and less slender, has leaves with 12–40 leaflets on each side of the rachis (rarely 12–13 leaflets per side), leaf sheaths longer than 40 cm, and inflorescences with 8–15 primary branches. Hydriastele kasesa is described in more detail by Petoe et al. (2018). PETER PETOE, CHARLIE D. HEATUBUN & WILLIAM J. BAKER Phytotaxa 370 (1) © 2018 Magnolia Press.

A moderately sized, slender, clustering or solitary palm to about 12m tall, from the Bismarck Archipelago off the east coast of Papua New Guinea. Each of its thin stems supports a small, open crown of 10-12 arching, dull green leaves on top of a light green crownshaft. Stems get a very attractive purple spotting. The mature fruit are a bright red.

Culture

Warm, sheltered and moist. Requires moist, sub-tropical conditions.

This species has proven itself well in a couple locations in Vero Beach, zone 9b. We have been growing this palm for about ten years. Regular winter lows in Vero have reached down to 29f-33f consistantly for the last ten winters.

Comments and Curiosities

Uses:—None recorded.

Vernacular names:—None recorded.

Conservation status:—Least Concern (LC; Petoe et al. 2018).

"Nice densely clustering, or sometimes solitary, species from New Guinea and northern Australia with short leaves, long light green crownshafts and wedge shaped leaflets. Some suggest judicious removal of canes for a landscape plant so more of the palm can be seen (creates a dense mass of vegetation otherwise). Very tropical palm. No Hydriasteles can survive in southern California." (Geoff Stein) Editing by edric.



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).

PETER PETOE, CHARLIE D. HEATUBUN & WILLIAM J. BAKER A monograph of Hydriastele (Areceae, Arecaceae) in New Guinea and Australia (Phytotaxa 370) 92 pp.; 30 cm. 24 September 2018 ISBN 978-1-77670-472-9 (paperback) ISBN 978-1-77670-473-6 (Online edition)


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

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