Arecaceae
Hydriastele

Hydriastele costata F.M.Bailey

First published in Queensland Agric. J. 2: 129 (1898)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is New Guinea to Bismarck Archipelago (New Britain) and N. Queensland. It is a tree and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome.

Descriptions

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: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

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
Robust, single-stemmed palm to 35 m, bearing 12–25 leaves in the distinctly spherical crown
Morphology Stem
Stem 15–35 cm diam. Leaf 2.4–5.5 m long including petiole, straight or slightly drooping; sheath 50–180 cm long; petiole 10–60 cm long; leaflets 58–75 each side of rachis, regularly arranged, single-fold, pendulous, linear, pointed or briefly notched at their tips
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence 58–100 cm long including 5–25 cm peduncle, branched to 2 or 3 orders, apparently protogynous; triads decussately arranged
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Female flower with free sepals and free, low and rounded petals, cream Male flower with 6 stamens, white to brownish
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit ca. 8–10 × 6 mm when ripe, ellipsoid, ripening through reddish brown to dark purple or blackish maroon, with conspicuous longitudinal white-greyish stripes
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seed ca. 5.5 × 4.5 mm, ellipsoid, ridged; endosperm homogeneous.
Distribution
Widely distributed throughout lowland New Guinea and surrounding islands, including New Britain; elsewhere in Australia.
Ecology
Rainforest, often on swampy ground, sea level to 700 m.
Vernacular
Afos (Miyah), Bay (Marap), Kaparo (Wandamen), Korr (Jal), Mabla (Orne), Oratare (Sumuri), Poi (Wapi), Tab (Timbunke), Tabavo Nyi (unknown dialect, North Cyclops Mountains area), Tabuh (Maprik), Yawa (Ambakanja).
Conservation
Least Concern (IUCN 2019).
Note
Hydriastele costata is the commonest tree palm of New Guinea’s lowland rainforests. It is immediately recognisable as a canopy emergent with a distinctive, spherical crown of more-or-less straight leaves with pendulous leaflets. Its highly distinctive longitudinally striped fruit with ridged (costate) seeds are not seen in any other member of the genus. Hydriastele costata has a similar habit to H. procera and H. wosimiensis but they both have protandrous inflorescences whereas H. costata is protogynous.
[PONG]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/151356855/151358585

Conservation
LC - least concern
[IUCN]

Uses

Use
Stems and leaves used for flooring, house construction, and thatch. Leaf sheaths used as basins and water buckets, carrying baskets, sago containers and plates. Leaf hairs and scales used as firelighter. Old inflorescences used as brushes and brooms. Palm heart is consumed. Stem is crushed and consumed to treat shortness of breath (East Sepik). Commonly planted near villages.
[PONG]

Common Names

english
avos
unknown
limbun palm

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

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

  • EBC Common Names

    • Common Names from Kew's Economic Botany Collection https://www.kew.org/science/collections-and-resources/collections/economic-botany-collection

  • 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 Living Collection Database

    • Common Names from Kew's Living Collection Database

  • 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