Saribus papuanus (Becc.) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 736 (1891)

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Content

Distribution

Map uses TDWG level 3 distributions (https://github.com/tdwg/wgsrpd)
New Guinea present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Indonesia. In Papua on Miosnom, Biak and Yapen islands, and the Timika area. (Dowe, J.L.: A taxonomic account of Livistona R.Br. (Arecaceae))A

Habitat

  • In rainforest at 200-540 m alt. (Dowe, J.L.: A taxonomic account of Livistona R.Br. (Arecaceae))A

Discussion

  • Livistona papuana was described by Beccari (1877) from his own collection from Miosnom Is in Cenderawasih Bay, Papua. He suggested some resemblance to L. rotundifolia, but from which it was distinct by the lack of armature and obovoid/obpyriform rather than globose fruit. Beccari did not describe flowers or mature fruits. Recent collections from Yapen Is, such as Arisoi HA1 (MAN), have yellow flowers and orange-red fruits.Livistona papuana is a canopy palm to 30 m tall; leaves are large and regularly segmented; segment apices are rigid, and with a bifurcate cleft 5-11% of the segment length; the inflorescence is basally trifurcate, not extending beyond the limit of the crown, and with up to 10 partial inflorescences; bracts are tightly tubular; flowers are yellow; fruit are globose, to 25 mm diam., and orange-red at maturity. (Dowe, J.L.: A taxonomic account of Livistona R.Br. (Arecaceae))A

Conservation

  • Near threatened. (Dowe, J.L.: A taxonomic account of Livistona R.Br. (Arecaceae))A

Common Name

  • Woka (Papuan name), Wanna (Poparo language). (Dowe, J.L.: A taxonomic account of Livistona R.Br. (Arecaceae))A

Description

  • Hermaphroditic palm. Trunk to 30 m (50 m?) tall, 12-30 cm dbh, leaf scars raised, internodes broad, grey. Leaves 17-40 in a globose crown; petiole 111-200 cm long, ca 15 mm wide at the apex, whitish with a thin, flakily deciduous waxy coating, adaxially flat to slightly ridged, margins armed throughout, or with spines infrequently confined to proximal portion or very infrequently lacking; margins sharp when unarmed; spines retrorsely recurved, to 20 mm long; leaf-base fibres soft, reddish, partly disintegrating; lamina costapalmate, regularly segmented, subcircular, 90-180 cm long, 100-150 cm wide, adaxially shiny or greyish green, abaxially lighter green, rigid, waxy glaucous; lamina divided for 23-69% of its length, with 45- 90 segments, depth of apical cleft 5-11% of the segment length; apical lobes acuminate, rigid; parallel veins 7-8 each side of midrib; transverse veins thinner than parallel veins. Inflorescences with 3 ± similar collateral axes, branched to 3 orders, each axis 100-225 cm long, not extending beyond the limit of the crown, arched-nodding, the central axis slightly longer than the laterals; partial inflorescences 5-10; prophyll to 25 cm long, to 8 cm wide, glabrous, basally brown, distally yellowish, disintegrating fibrous; peduncular bracts 1-4, 30-50 cm long, tightly tubular, deeply bifid and lacerate at the apex, glabrous; rachis bracts tubular-elongate, tightly sheathing, margins acute; rachis bracts tubular, subterete or very slightly flattened, mouths truncate, entire or lacerate-fibrous, and extended on one side into bi-toothed tips; rachillae 3-12 cm long, ca 1 mm thick, straight, reddish-brown pubescent, most dense underneath and immediately outside of enclosing bracts, whitish-green on exposed parts. Flowers solitary or in clusters of 2-4, ca 1.2 mm long, sessile on superficial pulvinuli, with an inconspicuous bracteole; sepals fused, lobes long, triangular, ca 1 mm long, apically acute, longitudinally nerved, yellow; petals triangular, obtuse, apically acute, ca 1 mm long, ca 1.2 mm wide at the base, yellow; stamens fused for ca ½ the length of the petal, shoulders flat, filament very thin, ca 0.5 mm high; anthers ca 0.1 mm long; carpels ca 0.8 mm long; stigma pointed. Fruit globose to obovoid-obpyriform, 14-25 mm long, 5-20 mm diam., orange-red, apex rounded, tapered to a narrow base, stigmatic yellow dots or short lines; mesocarp fibrous, with fibres embedded in the endocarp; endocarp bony to woody, 1.5-2 mm thick; pedicel 1-5 mm long. Seed globose, 20-25 mm diam.; embryo sublateral. Eophyll not seen. (Dowe, J.L.: A taxonomic account of Livistona R.Br. (Arecaceae))A

Materials Examined

  • INDONESIA: Papua. Misool Is, Pulalongkakalong, Heatubun 363 with Iwanggin (K, MAN); Manokwari District, Bintuni Subdistrict, near Tanah Merah Village, Maturbongs 730 with Siwana & Kamisopa (BO, K, MAN); Manokwari District, Bintuni Subdistrict, near Saengga Village, Maturbongs 731 with Siwana & Areta (AAU, BO, K, LAE, MAN); Miosnom Is., Apr 1875, Beccari s.n. (FI, holotype); Yapen Is, N side, Sewenui village, Arisoi HA1 (MAN); Yapen Is, N side, Sewenui village, Arisoi HA2 (MAN); Fakfak. Timika, path E at 50 mile on road to Tembagapura, 04°17.18'S, 137°1.3'E, 540 m alt., Baker WJB851 (AAU, BH, BO, BRI, K, MAN). (Dowe, J.L.: A taxonomic account of Livistona R.Br. (Arecaceae))A

Bibliography

    A. Dowe, J.L.: A taxonomic account of Livistona R.Br. (Arecaceae)
    B. World Checklist of Arecaceae