Dypsis oropedionis Beentje, Palms Madagascar : 159 (1995)

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Although the material of this palm is incomplete, it needs a name; it is clearly distinct, and severely threatened. The specific name is Greek for 'of the plateau', referring to the habitat. (Dransfield, J. & Beentje, H. 1995: The Palms of Madagascar)A

Map uses TDWG level 3 distributions (https://github.com/tdwg/wgsrpd)

Madagascar present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B

Known from two sites on the western side of the central high plateaux. (Dransfield, J. & Beentje, H. 1995: The Palms of Madagascar)A

Probably closest to D. pilulifera. (Dransfield, J. & Beentje, H. 1995: The Palms of Madagascar)A

inter species maximas foliolis fasciculatis inflorescentiis multo ramosis pedunculo breve rachillis glabris endospermio ruminato distincta. (Dransfield, J. & Beentje, H. 1995: The Palms of Madagascar)A

Relict dry evergreen plateau forest in steepsided valleys; 1100-1450 m. (Dransfield, J. & Beentje, H. 1995: The Palms of Madagascar)A

Critical. Numbers within the two sites were low; both populations are without real protection, with their habitat under serious threat from annual fires as well as tree-cutting. (Dransfield, J. & Beentje, H. 1995: The Palms of Madagascar)A

Solitary palm. TRUNK 8-20 m tall, 27-35 cm diam., near the crown c. 20 cm diam.; internodes 10-20 cm, grey-brown but distally green, nodal scars pronounced, 4-5 cm; crownshaft grey-green, covered in white wax. LEAVES tristichous, 6-11 in the crown, porrect to spreading; sheath grey-green, white-waxy, 80-157 cm, without auricles; petiole 25-35 cm long, channelled, densely scaly, 5.5-6 x 4.5-5 cm diam.; rachis c. 3.1 m, in mid-leaf c. 3.5 cm wide; leaflets 80-172 on each side of the rachis, in groups of 3-9 and fanned within the groups, stiff with the distal 1/3 pendulous, the proximal 80-93 x 1.7-2.1 cm, median 102-110 x 2-3.5 cm, distal 15-43 x 0.8-1.8 cm, main vein 1, plus thickened margins, with few ramenta to 8 mm long, otherwise glabrous, apices unequally bifid, attenuate. INFLORESCENCE infrafoliar, branched to 3 orders, spreading, 85-130 x 90-100 cm; peduncle 18-40 cm, c. 10 x 6 cm diam., glabrous; prophyll c. 72 x 20 cm, borne at c. 11 cm above the base of the peduncle, erect, split over its length; peduncular bract deciduous, inserted at 18 cm from the base of the peduncle, 87 cm long, 24 cm wide, closed for its distal 7 cm beak; rachis with c. 27 branched and 13 unbranched first order branches, these proximally 3.4-4 x 1.4-1.5 cm diam.; rachis bracts to 7 mm long; rachillae spreading-pendulous, cream, 10-37 cm long, 3.5-5 mm diam., glabrous, with distant (Dransfield, J. & Beentje, H. 1995: The Palms of Madagascar)A

Miandrivazo: Ambohitsaratelo, Nov. 1986 (fl., fr.), Dransfield et al. JD6446 (Holotype K; isotype TAN). Ankazobe: Manerinerina, April 1992 (fr.), Beentje et al. 4659 (K, TAN). (Dransfield, J. & Beentje, H. 1995: The Palms of Madagascar)A

A. Dransfield, J. & Beentje, H. 1995: The Palms of Madagascar

B. World Checklist of Arecaceae