Arecaceae
Rhapis

Rhapis subtilis Becc.

First published in Webbia 3: 227 (1910)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Indo-China, Sumatera. It is a shrub 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]

Distribution
Thailand, Laos, Sumatra.
General Description
Stems to 3 m tall, with sheaths (6)8–20 (25) mm diam., without (3)4–15 mm. Leaf sheath often with coarse, flattened outer immature fibers obscuring finer inner ones producing a diagonallined mesh, mature inner and outer fibers of similar thickness producing a squared open, often fine mesh, ligule sometimes remaining intact at maturity; petiole to 0.9–3 mm wide, often bearing minute brown papillae along the margin, sometimes only at the base or apex; blade with Vshaped or semi-circular outline, variable in size, sometimes with a conspicuous palman, segments 2–11, folds 7–25, to 380 mm long, sides curved, apices sometimes cucculate, oblique, sometimes truncate, with dentate secondary splitting, primary splits to within 1.5–168 mm of the blade base, brown papillae along the ribs, mostly adaxially and at the base, rather thin-textured, abaxial and adaxial surfaces similar in colour, pale green, transverse veinlets very conspicuous. Inflorescence, the male and female similar in general appearance, branching to 1 or 2 orders; peduncle relatively long, to 220 mm, glabrous; prophyll tubular, overlapping the first rachis bract, relatively thin-textured, pale-brown to reddish-brown, inner surface usually dull, occasionally shiny (Thorell 30599), outer surfaces dull, mostly glabrous, tomentose sometimes on edges and keels; rachis bracts 1–2, similar in appearance to the prophyll, overlapping the base of the next bract; rachis overall length 65–280(340) mm, ca. 2.3 mm diam., increasing up to 4 mm; rachillae few, to 34–238 mm long, 0.5–1.6 mm diam., male rachillae shorter than female, glabrous, pale brown. Flowers, relatively well spaced on the rachillae, large, coriaceous. Male flowers ovoid to 6.1 × 4.0 mm; calyx to 2.5 mm, lobes to 0.7mm with irregular margin, sometimes darkly pigmented; corolla marked with faint vertical lines of darker pigment, with acute lobes, narrowed into a receptacularstalk to 1.8 mm; filaments, shorter row to 1.5 mm, longer row to 2.0 mm, broad, to 0.5 mm diam., keeled; pistillode present. Female flowers, cylindrical to 5.5 × 3.2 mm, often conspicuously banded; calyx to 2.2 mm with a pale basal rim, lobes to 0.9 mm with a dark, irregular margin; corolla with vertical markings sometimes less distinct than in the male, with acute triangular, black or black-based beak like lobes, with a receptacular-stalk to 2 mm, 3 carpels developing; staminodes present. Fruit to 9.5 × 9.5 mm, 1–3 borne on a short receptacular-stalk to 2 mm, epicarp shiny translucent, minutely papillose, with conspicuous black lenticels.
Biology
Habitat. Limestone slopes, evergreen forest, 40–200m.
[PW]

Common Names

English
Dwarf Lady Palm

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/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. 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 Plants and People Africa http://www.plantsandpeopleafrica.com/

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. 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

  • 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