Arecaceae
Chrysalidocarpus

Chrysalidocarpus albofarinosus (Hodel & Marcus) Eiserhardt & W.J.Baker

First published in Taxon 71: 1182 (2022)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Madagascar. It is a shrub or tree and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome.

Descriptions

General Description
Clustered, shrubby palm forming clumps to 5 x 2-3 m (Fig. 1). Stems 4-5 cm diam., ringed, internodes 6-15 cm, greenish but initially covered with chalky powdery white indument, occasionally dichotomously branching as in Dypsis fibrosa and D. lutescens. Leaves 4-6 per stem, ascending, spreading, arching, tips slightly pendulous and sometimes twisted; sheath ca. 58 cm long, lime green, densely covered with chalky powdery white indumentum (Fig. 2), tubular, with blackish scales distally briefly extending on to petiole, a slight auricle or ligule at either side of petiole at mouth; petiole ca. 75 cm long, ascending, ca. 1.3 cm diam. at base, ca. 1 cm diam. at apex, initially covered with chalky powdery white indument, concave or channeled adaxially, convex abaxially, margins sharp; rachis ascending to spreading, ca. 1.35 m long, channeled adaxially near base soon becoming flat with a sharp vertical costa extending to tip, convex abaxially and initially covered with chalky powdery white indument, arching, sometimes twisting in distal half to ca. 200°; pinnae ca. 44 per side, ca. 50 x 1.1 cm proximally, ca. 50 x 1.5 cm in midleaf, ca. 17 x 0.4 mm distally, green, arising from rachis at angle to form v-shape blade, forward-pointing, lanceolate, long acuminate, ± with long drip tip, tips drooping, 2 marginal nerves and one prominent midrib raised adaxially, 1-2 secondaries between midrib and marginals, tertiaries numerous, faint, a few dark brown medifixed ramenta on abaxial midrib. Inflorescences infrafoliar (Fig. 3), spreading in flower, drooping in fruit, branched to three orders; peduncle ca. 35-45 cm long, ca. 3.5 cm wide at base, ca. 2.5 cm wide at apex, ca. 1.5 cm thick, flattened adaxially, convex abaxially, glabrous; prophyll attached ca. 9 cm above base of peduncle, ca. 16 cm long, bicarinate, the two keels extending proximally below the point of attachment on to the peduncle as faint wings, tubular, apex bifid, lobes ca. 3.5 cm long, longitudinally striate-nerved, thick, ± coriaceous; 1st peduncular bract attached ca. 16 cm above base of peduncle, probably fallen away and not seen, only a truncated base 0.5 high remaining, this exceeded and concealed by prophyll, 2nd peduncular bract attached ca. 25 cm above base of peduncle and about 1 cm proximally of tip of prophyll, triangular, 1.5 cm long, just exceeding prophyll, 3rd peduncular bract attached ca. 27.5 cm above base of peduncle, rudimentary, 2-3 mm high; rachis 35-45 cm long, glabrous, with 14 branched and 7 unbranched 1st order branches, the proximal branches the largest and most complex with subpeduncle or base to 7 cm long, 1-1.5 cm wide, flattened adaxially, convex abaxially, subrachis to 15 cm long, 2nd order branches with base to 3.5 cm long, 5 mm diam., flattened; rachillae over 100 per inflorescence, 5-20 cm long, 3-5 mm diam., glabrous; rachis and rachilla bracts 1-3 mm high, acute. Flowers in triads of a center later-opening pistillate flanked on either side by earlier-opening staminate or in dyads of 2 staminate or a staminate and a pistillate, triads or dyads 5-7 mm distant proximally, 1-2 mm distant distally, sunken in cleft-like pits 4 mm wide, 2.5-3 mm high, 2 mm deep, subtended proximally by a thin, raised, knife-like lip, 2-3 bracteoles subtending triads or dyads in proximal side of pit, these imbricate, thin, membranous, 0.5-0.8 mm high. Staminate flowers in bud 5 x 3 mm, bullet-shaped, at anthesis 5 x 5 mm (Fig. 4); calyx cupular-triangular, 1.5 x 3 mm, sepals broadly rounded, imbricate nearly to apex, keeled, hooded, 2.25 x 2.75 mm; petals connate for 2 mm to receptacle, free for 3 x 2.75 mm, valvatexwate, acute, faintly nerved (strongly nerved when dry); stamens 6, equaling or slightly exceeding petals, filaments 3.5 mm long, slightly enlarged at base, anthers 1.5-2 x 0.5 mm, dorsifixed; pistillode 2.5-3 x 1 mm, columnar, longitudinally angled or fluted. Pistillate flowers in bud 4 x 3 mm, broadly ovoid or dome-shaped; calyx 3 x 3 mm, sepals broadly rounded, imbricate in proximal 2 mm, keeled, hooded, 2.5-3 x 2.5 mm, margins thin, ± transparent; petals 3-3.5 x 2.5 mm, imbricate in proximal 2.5 mm, broadly ovate with short apicula, acute; staminodes 6, 0.4 mm high, tooth-like; ovary 3 x 2 mm, bullet- to dome-shaped, stigmas not distinct at this time. Fruits 2 x 1.5 cm, ± ovoid. Seeds 17 x 14 mm, endosperm homogeneous; embryo sub-basal.
Diagnostic
D. baronii, D. lutescenti et D. onilahensi affinis sed vaginis foliorum pulveraceis cretaceo-albis petiolis longis differt.
[PW]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/17060715/17060724

Conservation
CR - critically endangered
[IUCN]

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]

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.

  • 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 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 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