Livistona muelleri F.M.Bailey

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

Moderately robust, single-stemmed tree palm to 12 m

Morphology Stem

Stem 15–25 cm diam.; leaf scars narrow, raised; internodes narrow, grey; petiole remnants persistent at the base, or deciduous with age or if burnt

Morphology Leaves

Leaves 25–35 in a globose crown, held erect; leaf blade circular, 60–90 cm diam., rigid, flat, olive green to grey green on the upper surface, dull bluish green and glabrous except for a few scales on the ribs on the lower surface; segments 48–60, rigid, free for 50–65% of their length, depth of apical cleft 5–14% of the length of the free portion; apical lobes acute, rigid; petiole 0.7–1 m long, 1.4–2 cm wide, margins with single curved reddish to black spines 0.2–1.2 cm long throughout, larger and closer spaced in the proximal portion; both the upper and lower surfaces with rows of persistent corky scales, at first red–brown aging to grey

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescences 0.8– 1.6 m long; first-order branches 5–10, branched to 4 orders; peduncular bract lacking; rachis bracts loosely tubular, with silver scales, splitting and disintegrating with age; rachillae 2–13 cm long, papillose, maroon to red

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers solitary or in clusters of 2–3, 1.3–1.6 mm long in bud; sepals broadly triangular, 0.8–1 mm long, maroon, fleshy, cuspidate; petals ovate, 1.3–1.6 mm long, subacute, yellow; stamens ca 1.4 mm long, yellow

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruit ellipsoid, 10–12 × 8.5–10 mm; epicarp smooth, powdery blue or bluish black

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seed globose, 8–9 mm diam.

Distribution

Southern and south-eastern New Guinea. Also Cape York Peninsula, Australia.

Ecology

In grassy open forest, woodland, moist sclerophyll forest, and less commonly on the margins of vine thickets, sea level to 300 m, and most common in areas that have a strongly seasonal rainfall pattern.

Vernacular

None recorded.

Conservation

Least Concern.

Note

notes: Livistona muelleri is a moderate sub-canopy palm. The leaves are regularly segmented with the segment apices rigid. The inflorescence bracts are loosely sheathing. The colour combination of the rachillae and flowers is very distinctive. Flowers have maroon sepals, yellow petals and mauve carpels, and the rachillae are maroon to red. Fruit are ellipsoid, pyriform, to obovoid, and powdery blue, reddish black to bluish black at maturity.