Ravenea madagascariensis
Ravenea (rah-vehn-EH-ah) madagascariensis (mad-ah-gas-kahr-ee-EN-sis) | |||||||
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Madagascar. Photo by Justin. | |||||||
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Contents
Habitat and Distribution
Central and East Madagascar: Manerinerina and Andasibe to Kalambatitra and Midongy. Occurs within the following protected areas: Marojejy, Zahamena, Ambohitantely, Mantadia, Analamazaotra, Ranomafana, Andringitra, Ivohibe and Midongy Atsimo. Grows in moist to rather dry hill forest, on steep slopes or hill crests, occasionally on steep slopes in riverine forest; occurs from 50 to 1,700 m. This palm characterizes montane forest in Madagascar but has also been collected at least once in the coastal region.Description
An elegant medium sized palm, with leaves erect in a shuttlecock formation, or slightly arching.
Graceful palm. TRUNK 5-12 m. high, 16-22 cm in diam., near crown 8-15 cm in diam.; wood hard, with black fibrous layer just below the bark; base of trunk often thickened, the boss 10-60 cm high and 38-40 cm across, often with surface roots; trunk occasionally with remaining sheath bases in distal part; internodes 3.5-14 cm, brown or grey; nodal scars about 2.5 cm; base of crown bulbous, 22-28 cm across. LEAVES 10-26 in the crown, sometimes with a few marcescent leaves; leaves porrect, straight in "shuttlecock" mode or less often slightly arching, often with the distal part held on edge; sheath 30-104 cm, the base 15-40 cm wide, dull brown with whitish brown to grey-brown tomentum, glabrescent, with fibrous edges, the fibres reflexed; petiole 20-80 cm, proximally 4.5-7 x 2-3.5 cm across, distally 3-4.5 x 1.5-2.5 cm across, adaxially channelled with sharp edges, with the same tomentum as the sheath, glabrescent; rachis 1.9-3 m, in mid-leaf 1.5-2.5 x 1.2-2 cm, keeled in the distal half, when young with whitish tomentum over green, but soon glabrescent; leaflets pale or rich green, occasionally slightly waxy, in one plane or at an angle of up to 140° with the leaflets on the other side of the rachis, 55-82 on each side of the rachis, the proximal 31-90 x 0.3-3.5 cm, the median 54-95 x 2.2-5.2 cm (interval 1.2-2.3 cm), the distal 11-40 x 0.3-3.5 cm, often with the terminal pair partly joined, main veins 4-6, ramenta red- brown, large, abundant along the midrib abaxially but quickly caducous leaving few on the basal part, occasionally with some on the smaller veins, margins often uprolled. STAMINATE INFLORESCENCE interfoliar, multiple in 4s-9s, the innermost opening, the outermost often remaining in bud stage until abscising; individual inflorescences branching to 2 orders; peduncle 40-119 cm, proximally 6-10 mm across, distally the same or slightly thinner, green, proximally with a dense grey-brown tomentum thinning out towards the distal end, but glabrescent; common prophyll 18-23 x 8.5 cm, tattering; peduncular bracts 26-33 cm, 53-57 cm, 120-158 cm (inserted at about 30 cm from the base of the peduncle), 131-162 cm (inserted at about 40 cm), densely pubescent abaxially, adaxially smooth, glabrous, red-brown; non-tubular peduncular bract 11-13.5 x 0.7-0.8 cm; rachis 37-63 cm, proximally tomentose but quickly glabrescent, with (16) 30-46 branched first order branches and 0-36 unbranched ones, all branches porrect; proximal rachis bracts 1-8 x 0.4-0.8 cm; first order branches glabrous, cream or green, with 1-3 rachillae, at the base 3-6 x 2-4 mm; rachillae 3.5-20 cm, 1 mm across, sinuous in the distal part.read more |
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STAMINATE FLOWERS dense, yellowish, sweetly scented; pedicel 0.3-2 mm; bracteole 0.6-0.7 x 0.3 mm, acute; calyx connate for 0.8-2.4 mm, 1.4-1.8 mm across, free lobes 0.5-1.3 x 1.3-1.6 mm, triangular, acute; petals free or connate at the extreme base only, 1.8-4.2 x 1.8-2.5 mm, broadly ovate, shortly acuminate; filaments 0.3-0.5 mm, connate at the base for 0.2 mm; anthers 1.4-2.7 x 0.5-0.8 mm; pistillode 0.8-1 x 0.4-0.5 mm. PISTILLATE INFLORESCENCES multiple, in groups of 3-7 (only rarely solitary), erect, pendulous or spreading in fruit; individual inflorescences branching to one order; peduncle 42-100 cm, proximally 1.1-2 x 1-1.3 cm, distally 0.7-1.4 cm across, dark grey-brown tomentose, glabrescent; common prophyll 20 x 7.5 cm; peduncular bracts 11-32 cm (inserted at 0-15 cm from the base of the peduncle), 37-74 x 2.2 cm (inserted at 2-33 cm), 84-151 x 2.3 cm (inserted at 5-38 cm), 81-152 x 2.5 cm (inserted at 20-45 cm), densely tomentose abaxially, smooth, glabrous and red-brown adaxially; non-tubular peduncular bract 9.3-20 x 0.5 cm, proximally tomentose but quickly glabrescent; rachis 30-83 cm, glabrous, with (16) 41-78 porrect rachillae; proximal rachis bracts about 2.6 x 1.3 cm; rachillae dense, porrect, green, glabrous, occasionally slightly waxy, 5-44 cm, 1.2-2.5 mm across, the bare base 4-9 x 3 mm. PISTILLATE FLOWERS not very dense, yellow; pedicel 0.5-6 mm; bracteole 0.5-3.7 1.3 mm, acute, occasionally connate with the pedicel for up to 1.5 mm; calyx connate for 1-2 mm, 1.7-2.3 mm across, the free lobes 0.4-2.3 x 1.3-2.2 mm, triangular, acute; petals fleshy, 1.7-4 x 2-2.7 mm, ovate, acute; staminodes 0.8-1.5 x 0.6-0.8 mm; ovary 2.6-4 mm, 2-2.4 mm across. FRUIT orange, globose or obliquely ellipsoid, 5-10 x 7.5-10 mm, one-seeded; stigmatic remains subapical to lateral. SEED brown, 6-7 x 5-5.5 mm. (J. Dransfield and H. Beentje. 1995)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.
The description of Nicoll & Abraham 342 is suggestive of R. robustior (trunk 25 m, 20-40 cm across; 8-9 leaves in crown, with pendulous pinnae; fruit red) but the specimen is certainly R. madagascariensis. Guillaumet 4172 (P, TAN) from Marojejy is described as having multiple inflorescences; the specimen is pistillate, and looks quite like R. sambiranensis, but if it is truly the pistillate tree which has multiple inflorescences, then the specimen is true R. madagascariensis, and the distribution area of this species would be considerably extended. Most publications, including the protologue, have one of the syntypes as Chevalier s.n., but Chevalier never collected on Madagascar, and the true specimen is a Chapelier collection, with Beccari"s handwriting on it. The var. monticola was described as different, based on the width of the leaflets (but the leaflets of the types of both varieties are of about the same width, 1.7-2.4 cm), on the proximal leaflets being longer than the median ones (a not uncommon feature in this, and other, genera, and of no taxonomic significance), and on the pistillate inflorescences being in groups of three in var. monticola, as opposed to solitary in var. madagascariensis. However, the types of var. madagascariensis are either staminate (Chapelier s.n.) or without field notes (Hildebrandt 4132), and there is nothing to indicate whether var. madagascariensis has solitary or multiple pistillate inflorescences; the confusion was probably caused by Jumelle (1927b) who states that the type is from Analamazaotra, and its pistillate inflorescences are solitary. He cites Perrier 11960 and 12011; we have not seen the latter, but the former has the inflorescence cut above the base. He also cites two further specimens, which are both R. sambiranensis, with true solitary pistillate inflorescences. Since the types of var. madagascariensis and var. monticola agree in all other respects, and the large amount of material referable to this species is rather variable, but not to such an extent that a division into varieties is warranted, the varieties are re-united. (J. Dransfield and H. Beentje. 1995)/Palmweb. |
Culture
Lightly shaded/full sun, moist, but well drained. Cold Hardiness Zone: 10a
Comments and Curiosities
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This is a dioecious genus. A very elegant, medium-sized palm of the high plateaux; less common at lower altitudes. It is not rare in cultivation, where it is generally known as R. madagascariensis var. monticola; however, that variety does not really differ from the true madagascariensis. Conservation: Widespread between Midongy Atsimo and Marojejy. The species is common in montane forest as individuals are usually locally abundant and some of them can persist in a very small patches of forest or in disturbed areas. There are localized threats to the species but these are not thought to have a major impact. Given the extensive range, abundance and lack of significant threats this species is listed as Least Concern. A common palm, more than 2,000 mature trees are estimated for this species and the population is relatively stable. The main threat to this species is habitat loss through clearance for shifting agriculture and logging. Given the wide range of this species, this threat does not have a significant impact on the species. (Rakotoarinivo, M. & Dransfield, J. 2012) Uses: Outer wood used in house walls and floors. "This is a palm, I and many others in So Cal have tried to grow with the understanding it was quite hardy... but it's really not. There are a lot of them doing great in So Cal, but only in zone 10s. It's a rather ordinary non-crownshafted palm with long leaves and long, straight leaflets. As a young palm it can be quite impressive with long leaves shooting right out of the ground, but as it ages it looks a bit less exciting." (Geoff Stein) 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
- Glossary of Palm Terms
- MODERN BOTANICAL LATIN
- "Just To Be Clear"
- http://www.palms.org/principes/1994/ravanea.htm
- THE SAXOPHONE STYLE ROOT GROWTH (HEEL)
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).
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.