Arecaceae
Hydriastele

Hydriastele apetiolata Petoe & W.J.Baker

First published in Kew Bull. 73(1)-17: 3 (2018)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is SW. & SE. New Guinea. It is a tree and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome.

Descriptions

Baker, W.J., Barfod, A.S., Cámara-Leret, R., Dowe, J.L., Heatubun, C.D., Petoe, P., Turner, J.H., Zona, S. & Dransfield, J. (2024) Palms of New Guinea. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond. 726 pp.

Morphology General Habit
Slender, multi-stemmed palm to 6 m, bearing 7–10 leaves per crown
Morphology Stem
Stem 4.5–6 cm diam. Leaf to 125 cm long; sheath ca. 60 cm long; petiole lacking; leaflets 23– 26 each side of rachis, regularly arranged; basal leaflets single-fold, linear and grouped, obliquely or truncately jagged at their tips; apical leaflets comprising 4–6 folds, wedge-shaped, truncately jagged at the tip; juvenile leaves entire-bifid, with or without petiole, with blade 100–130 cm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence 25–35 cm long including 3.5–5.5 cm peduncle, branched to 2 orders, protogynous; triads decussately arranged
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Female flower with free sepals and free, rounded, low petals Male flower with 6–8 stamens
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit 7.4–9.4 × 6.6–8.2 mm when ripe, subglobose, red
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seed 5.1–7.2 × 5–6.8 mm, globose to subglobose; endosperm ruminate.
Distribution
Known from two widely separated areas of southern New Guinea.
Ecology
Lowland rainforest, near sea level.
Vernacular
None recorded.
Conservation
Data Deficient (IUCN 2019). There is limited information on ongoing threats in the area of distribution. Due to insufficient evidence, an extinction risk category cannot be selected.
Note
Hydriastele apetiolata is a midstorey palm with a slender stem, distinguished by its regularly pinnate, adult leaves lacking petiole and entire-bifid juvenile leaves (petiolate or apetiolate in the juvenile). The combination of entire juvenile leaves and pinnate adult leaves is not known in any other understorey or midstorey species of Hydriastele.
[PONG]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/151356781/151358565

Conservation
DD - data deficient
[IUCN]

Uses

Use
None recorded.
[PONG]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images

  • Palms of New Guinea

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0