Family:
Arecaceae Bercht. & J.Presl
Genus:
Ravenea H.Wendl. ex C.D.Bouché

Ravenea robustior Jum. & H.Perrier

This species is accepted, and its native range is N. & E. Madagascar.

[PW]
Distribution
NW, E and SE Madagascar, from Manongarivo to Marojejy and south to Andohahela.
General Description
Majestic tree palm. TRUNK (6-) 12-30 m high, columnar or slightly ventricose, 20-60 cm diam. at breast height, increasing to 75 cm, decreasing to 16-40 cm near crown; base bulbous, 15-50 cm high, 47-100 cm across, with surface roots to 30 cm long, 6-12 mm across, with minute adventituous side roots; outer wood hard, heartwood white and soft; leaf scars obscure, 3-7 cm; internodes 7-25 cm (near crown 4-5 cm); bark pale brown, pale reddish or grey, closely fissured to smooth. Distal part of trunk usually with remnants of sheaths. Wood extremely hard on the outside, due to many black fibres; heartwood soft, white. LEAVES 11-25 in crown, spiral, porrect, held in shuttlecock, straight or nearly so, often held on edge in the distal part of the leaf; leaflets stiff or curved downwards in the proximal part of the leaf; sheath grading smoothly into the petiole, ligules present or absent, c. (38-) 50-112 cm, 16-45 cm wide, bulbous or not, abaxially densely white- to grey-brown tomentose, later glabrescent, adaxially pale orange, with some stiff reflexed marginal fibres 1.5-2.5 mm across; petiole 17-134 cm, proximally 8-17 x 2-4 cm, distally 3.8-8 x 1.3-4.5 cm, channelled with sharp edges or slightly convex adaxially, convex abaxially, thickly grey-brown tomentose, glabrescent; rachis 2.2-4 m, in mid-leaf 1-4.7 cm high, 1.7-3.3 cm wide, medially sharply keeled or flat (on same tree!), abaxially with grey indument but quickly glabrescent; leaflets regular, in one plane or those at opposite sides of the rachis at a slight (up to 140°) upwards angle, dark green, (40-) 50-105 on each side of the rachis, the proximal (19-) 45-120 x 1-4 cm, median 60-126 x 2.5-7.5 cm (interval 2-5 cm), distal 13-46 x 0.3-3.5 cm, top pair often connate for up to 5 cm, ramenta large, many in young leaves, a few proximal ones in older leaves, deciduous, 1-6 main veins. STAMINATE INFLORESCENCE solitary, erect, interfoliar or infrafoliar among dead leafbases, branching to 2 (-3 in Humbert 6232) orders; peduncle 50-60 cm, proximally 2.8-3.3 x 2.5 cm, distally 2.2-2.8 x 1.3-2 cm, densely pubescent; prophyll 13-47 cm; 1st peduncular bract 18-77 R AVENEA x 8 cm (inserted at 3-11 cm from the base of the peduncle), 2nd (39-) 109-160 x 10 cm (inserted at 5 cm), 3rd 166-209 x 15.5 cm (inserted at 13 cm), 4th 175-209 cm (inserted at ?), all bracts abaxially with thick pale or red-brown tomentum; non-tubular peduncular bract c. 19 x 1 cm; rachis 84-131 cm long, proximally pubescent, distally glabrous, yellowish; proximal rachis bract 4-19 x 0.8-2.4 cm; rachillae many (in the lowland population with 60-140 branched and 39 unbranched first order branches), distally densely packed, porrect, straw-yellow, straight or distally sinuous, (5-) 10-47 cm, 1.5-2 mm across; pedicels quite closely set, 0.2-3 mm long; bracteoles 0.7-1 mm long; calyx with connate part 0.8-1.8 mm long and 1.4-2.2 mm across, and free sepals 0.9-1.5 mm long and 1.2-1.8 mm wide, triangular, acute; petals ovate, acute, 1.4-5 x 1.2-2.2 mm, not connate or very briefly connate by the filaments; filaments of all 6 stamens equal, 0.5-1 mm, not or only slightly attached to the petals; anthers 1.5-2.8 x 0.7-1.3 mm; pistillode 0.6-0.8 mm. PISTILLATE INFLORESCENCE interfoliar, solitary, erect, spreading or pendulous in fruit, all axes orange in fruit, branched to 1 order (to 2 orders in Beentje 4600); peduncle 45-100 cm, proximally 3-4.5 x 2.3-2.5 cm, distally 1.2-3.5 x 0.9-2.8 cm, pale green, proximally densely grey-white pubescent, distally glabrescent; prophyll 16-22 x 9-10 cm; peduncular bracts 21-40 x 9 cm (inserted at 5-20 cm from the base of the peduncle), 50-70 x 5-6 cm (inserted at 10-24 cm), 90-120 x 5-6 cm (inserted at c. 27 cm), 70-150 x 5-6 cm (inserted at 30-70 cm), all grey-brown tomentose abaxially; rachis 55-80 cm, with 45-100 spreading or reflexed rachillae; proximal rachis bract c. 32 x 2.2 cm; rachillae pale waxy green to orange (in fruit), 9-81 cm, 3-4 mm across, distally sinuous, proximally with bulbous bases, 1.2-2.4 x 1.2-1.8 cm, glabrous; pedicels 1-28 mm; bracteole 0.7-1.2 x 0.5-0.6 mm, connate for 0.8-6 mm; calyx connate for 0.8-2.2 mm, 2-3.5 mm across, free lobes 1.5-2.2 x 1.4-2.5 mm; petals (1.6) 4-4.2 x 1.8-2.4 mm; staminodes 0.8 mm; ovary c. 3.5 mm. FRUIT orange, obovoid to ovoid-globose, 10-18 x 8-15 mm; usually one-seeded, then stigmatic remains subbasal; occasionally 2-3-seeded, then stigmatic remains terminal. SEED red-brown, hard, 9-16 x 6-13 mm; seedcoat brown, 0.2 mm thick. EOPHYLL bifid.
Conservation
Rare. Though widespread, the species is not common, and the continued cutting for palm-heart and construction wood might move it to the Vulnerable category in the near future. Protected populations are the ones in the Ranomafana National Park, Marojejy and Manongarivo Reserve and at Analamazaotra, though trees of this species are still being cut within the Reserves.
Biology
Moist forest in valley bottoms, on medium or steep slopes, near water or near hill crests; in open or closed forest; often locally common; 1-1000 (-2000) m.
Vernacular
Hovotravavy (Tsimihety); Manara, Tanave, Retanana (Betsimisaraka); Monimony, Loharanga at Analamazaotra, Anivona at Andasibe (fide Dransfield, Moore); Laafa at Ranomafana; Anivo, Lakabolavo at Amby; Bobokaomby at Manombo; Vakabe, Vakaky, Vakaboloka, ?Bokombio at Andohahela.

[PW]
Use
Palm-heart eaten (though the Chef de Poste at Analamazaotra informs us the palm-heart is rather bitter, and not much liked); formerly used to make salt from the ash of the trunk (fide Perrier); young leaves used to make brooms; outer wood used for floorboards, tables and house walls.

Native to:

Madagascar

English
Loharanga

Ravenea robustior Jum. & H.Perrier appears in other Kew resources:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status Has image?
Sep 7, 2007 Rakotoarinivo, M. [RMJ355], Madagascar K000525908 No
Sep 4, 2007 Rakotoarinivo, M. [RMJ352], Madagascar K000525903 No
Jan 1, 2007 Rakotoarinivo, M. [RMJ361], Madagascar K000525901 No
Jan 1, 2007 Rakotoarinivo, M. [361], Madagascar 65106.000 No
Nov 15, 1996 Dransfield, J. [JD7633], Madagascar K000462703 No
Jan 1, 1995 Beentje, H.J. [4717], Madagascar 29047.846 No
Jan 1, 1995 Dransfield, J. [JD6422], Madagascar 53862.000 No
Jan 1, 1995 Beentje, H.J. [4660], Madagascar 59466.000 No
Jan 1, 1995 Beentje, H.J. [4668], Madagascar 59555.000 No
Jan 1, 1995 Beentje, H.J. [4419], Madagascar 60501.000 No
Jan 1, 1995 Beentje, H.J. [4576], Madagascar 60541.000 No
Jan 1, 1995 Beentje, H.J. [4569], Madagascar 60600.000 No
Jan 1, 1995 Beentje, H.J. [4419], Madagascar K000300368 No
Jan 1, 1995 Beentje, H.J. [4668], Madagascar K000300369 No
Jan 1, 1995 Dransfield, J. [JD6422], Madagascar K000300377 No
Jan 1, 1995 Beentje, H.J. [4604], Madagascar K000300378 No
Jan 1, 1995 Beentje, H.J. [4600], Madagascar K000300379 No
Jan 1, 1995 Beentje, H.J. [4717], Madagascar K000300381 No
Jan 1, 1995 Beentje, H.J. [4660], Madagascar K000300384 No
Jan 1, 1995 Beentje, H.J. [4662], Madagascar K000300387 No
Jan 1, 1995 Beentje, H.J. [4569], Madagascar K000300385 No
Jan 1, 1995 Beentje, H.J. [4576], Madagascar K000300388 No
Jan 1, 1995 Beentje, H.J. [4665], Madagascar K000300389 No
Jan 1, 1993 Beentje, H.J. [4686], Madagascar 29047.847 No
Jan 1, 1993 Beentje, H.J. [4677], Madagascar 29047.853 No
Jan 1, 1993 Dransfield, J. [JD6379], Madagascar 59456.000 No
Jan 1, 1993 Dransfield, J. [JD6380], Madagascar K000300372 No
Jan 1, 1993 Dransfield, J. [JD6780], Madagascar K000300373 No
Jan 1, 1993 Dransfield, J. [JD6767], Madagascar K000300375 No
Jan 1, 1993 Dransfield, J. [JD6381], Madagascar K000300376 No
Jan 1, 1993 Beentje, H.J. [4686], Madagascar K000300380 No
Jan 1, 1993 Beentje, H.J. [4677], Madagascar K000300382 No
Jan 1, 1993 Dransfield, J. [JD6379], Madagascar K000300386 No
Jan 1, 1993 Dransfield, J. [JD6768], Madagascar K000300390 No
Oct 29, 1987 Cours, G. [4384], Madagascar K000300374 No
Beentje, H.J. [4600], Madagascar 29047.860 No
Dransfield, J. [JD6491], Madagascar 54338.000 No
Dransfield, J. [JD6379], Madagascar 55822.000 No
Beentje, H.J. [4600], Madagascar 58836.000 No
Dransfield, J. [JD 6422], Madagascar 59468.000 No
Dransfield, J. [6491], Madagascar 59556.000 No
Beentje, H.J. [4789], Madagascar 60438.000 No
Beentje, H.J. [4660], Madagascar 60491.000 No
Beentje, H.J. [4600], Madagascar 60509.000 No
Beentje, H.J. [4600], Madagascar 60626.000 No
Dransfield, J. [JD7520], Madagascar K000300370 No
Dransfield, J. [JD7520], Madagascar K000300371 No
Beentje, H.J. [4789], Madagascar K000300383 No
Rakotoarinivo, M. [RMJ232], Madagascar K000462727 No

First published in Ann. Mus. Colon. Marseille, sér. 3, 1: 49 (1913)

Accepted by

  • Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J. (2005). World Checklist of Palms: 1-223. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Rakotoarinivo, M., Trudgen, M.S. & Baker, W.J. (2009). The palms of the Makira protected area, Madagascar. Palms; Journal of the International Palm Society 53: 125-146.

Literature

Palmweb - Palms of the World Online

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

Kew Backbone Distributions

  • Rakotoarinivo, M., Trudgen, M.S. & Baker, W.J. (2009). The palms of the Makira protected area, Madagascar. Palms; Journal of the International Palm Society 53: 125-146.

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Living Collection Database

    Common Names from Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Living Collection https://www.kew.org/

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Palmweb - Palms of the World Online

    Palmweb 2011. Palmweb: Palms of the World Online. Published on the internet http://www.palmweb.org. Accessed on 21/04/2013
    Content licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0