Difference between revisions of "Pritchardia viscosa"

This palm prefers a sunny, well drained, and moist location.

"Apply a complete palm fertilizer with minor elements as directed on label. Be certain that sufficient magnesium and potassium is present in the fertilizer component. This is especially critical for loulus in pots. Magnesium and potassium deficiencies are two of the most serious nutritional disorders in palms. The deficiencies are characterized by bright yellowing (chlorotic) on leaf edges or streaking or the entire fronds yellowing. This can be difficult to reverse. Applications of Epsom salt, or magnesium sulfate (MgSO4), is good but does not last and is usually washed out of the soil in rainy periods. There are some very good slow release fertilizer spikes made for especially for palms on the market which contain a good balance of minor elements with magnesium and potassium. [2,3] Potted or younger loulu planted in the ground appreciate a foliar feeding of kelp or fish emulsion and Epsom salt monthly or bi-monthly. [David Eickhoff, Native Plants Hawaiʻi." (Encyclopedia of Life curator Dr. David Eickhoff)

Loulu are prone to leaf rollers, red spider mites and sugar cane borers. Rats will eat its fruit. (Encyclopedia of Life curator Dr. David Eickhoff)

"this is an extremely rare palm-only 4 individuals left in the wild on Hawaii, and also extremely rare in cultivation. It has large, wedge-shaped flat perfect leaves only barely split at the tips and the undersides are a luminscent coppery silver. Very ornamental if you can find the seed ... someday seedlings may be for sale if they can get the plants to reproduce". (Geoff Stein).

Etymology: Pritchardia name is dedicated to William Thomas Pritchard (1829-1907), British official stationed in Fiji in the 19th Century, British counsul in Fiji, adventurer, and author of Polynesian Reminiscences in 1866. The epithet is Latin for “viscous”, an allusion to the texture of the inflorescences. (Bill Chang)

Conservation: In situ management has been conducted by the land managers, the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DLNR-DOFAW) with a fenced exclosure around two individuals protecting them from grazing animals and pigs, metal rat guards also circle their stems. Ex situ collections with known wild origins are maintained and protected by the DLNR-DOFAW, botanic gardens on Kauai and Oahu. Pritchardia viscosa is recognized by the Center for Plant Conservation (CPC), which provides educational awareness. Recovery plans have been thoroughly researched and produced for P. viscosa by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Recommended management strategies include: protection of in situ populations, adding rat baiting, invasive weed management and long-rang monitoring; establish new wild populations; establish effective ex situ populations; collaborate to accomplish conservation biology research; adhere to invasive weeds, pest management, and quarantine procedures. Establish reliable protocols for seed storage, including effective seed banking as a conservation tool. (virtualherbarium.org)

Critically Endangered; Restricted to the windward side of Kauai Island. Only two wild trees were known until recently, when two more were discovered; one of which has been harvested. (ICUN Redlist 1998.)

Threats to Survival: Predation of P. viscosa seeds occurs from introduced rats (Rattus rattus, R. exulans, and R. norvegicus). Introduced vertebrates such as deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus), goats (Capra hircus), and pigs (Sus scrofa) also reduce P. viscosa seedlings by grazing and uprooting them. Invasive weeds such as grasses (Paspalum conjugatum) and guava (Psidium guajava, P. cattleianum) can form weed mats and out-compete young palm seedlings. Seed harvesting and poaching by humans also occurs. One individual had permanent damage to its stem made by a person wearing pole-climbing spikes. A seedling in the population area was removed, after being observed by the author for over four years and an intentional, shovel-made hole in the ground remained. Pests and disease are a constant threat. Existing threats include the two-spotted leaf hopper (Sophonia rufofascia), and Phytophthora, as well as serious potential threats if introduced, such as the West Indian sugarcane borer (Metamasius hemipterus) or Lethal Yellowing disease and its known vector the palm cixiid (Myndus crudus). (virtualherbarium.org)

Pritchardia viscosa (Loʻulu or Stickybud Pritchardia) is an extremely rare endangered species of Pritchardia palm that is endemic to the Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi.

Like the related Nihoa Fan Palm (P. remota), it is susceptible to extinction by a single catastrophic event because of its wild population of four individuals. It is threatened by introduced rats, which eat the seeds. It has been cultivated to a moderate extent, but is exceptionally limited in its habitat.

"The trunk of this species grows to 20 feet in height and has a diameter of 8 inches; it has one of the more slender trunks for the genus. The leaf crown is open and nearly spherical with 40 inch-wide semi-circular leaves whose segments extend 1 foot into the blade. They are stiff and on-pendent, even in older leaves. Leaf color is glossy and light, grassy green above and beautiful silvery green beneath. In 1992, Hurricane Iniki caused a decline in the population. The current threat to the species in its natural habitat is seed predation by rats, pigs and humans." (Bill Chang)