Arecaceae
Chrysalidocarpus

Chrysalidocarpus decaryi (Jum.) Eiserhardt & W.J.Baker

First published in Taxon 71: 1183 (2022)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is SE. Madagascar. It is a tree and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome. It is has environmental uses and for food.

Descriptions

Distribution
S Madagascar, confined to a small area.
General Description
Solitary palm. TRUNK (0.5-) 3-6 (-10) m high, 30-40 cm diam.; internodes 3-10 cm, grey. LEAVES tristichous, 18-24, 1.5-3.25 m, porrect, arched, twisted around the rachis, marcescent; sheath open, 30-45 cm long, 40-65 cm wide when flattened, yellow-green with dense white wax usually overlaid by thick reddish pubescence, with ligules 7 cm high, 10 cm wide, orange turning grey-brown; petiole 33-50 cm long, proximally 6-7.5 x 9-10 cm diam., distally 5 x 5 cm, channelled with sharp margins, abaxially with reddish pubescence but glabrescent; rachis 2.2-3 m long, densely pubescent but glabrescent, channelled proximally, in mid-leaf 2-3 x 1.3-2.3 cm and keeled; leaflets 55-97 on each side of the rachis, regular, glaucous, at an angle of 90° with the leaflets on the opposite side of the rachis, the proximal 80-140 x 0.5-1 cm, (the most proximal often with reins and pendulous), median 58-89 x 2-3.5 cm (interval 2-5 cm), distal 10-60 x 0.4-1.6 cm, the top pair not or hardly connate, one or two tuft(s) of long brown-red ramenta present on the proximal part of erect, hooded, split for 90% with only the proximal part closed, with scattered scales; peduncular bract inserted at 18-20 cm from the base of the peduncle, 40-55 cm long, open over most of its length but closed and beaked for the distal 5-19 cm, with scattered scales; rachis c. 118 cm, with all axes flaking and densely scaly, with 20-26 branched and c. 18 unbranched first order branches, these proximally flattened, their base up to 7 x 5 mm; most proximal first order branches with their rachis up to 50 cm long and up to 22 second order branches (8 of these branched again); rachillae pale yellow-green, 12-26 cm long, 1-4 mm diam.; triads, distant, slightly sunken, with small yellowish flowers. STAMINATE FLOWERS with sepals 1.7-2.1 x 1.6-2 mm, concave, keeled and proximally gibbous, elliptic, rounded, entire; petals on a 1.2-1.5 mm high receptacle, 3.2- 3.5 x 1.8-2.3 mm, elliptic, fleshy, acute; stamens 6, very slightly biseriate, with the antepetalous stamens inserted slightly higher than the antesepalous ones, filaments 2.4-3 mm the abaxial midrib, and lines of scattered minute reddish scales present on the fainter veins, main vein 1, very prominent adaxially, as well as thickened margins, apex unequal, bifid in median leaflets. INFLORESCENCE interfoliar, 125-178 x 120 cm, widely spreading, branched to 3 orders; peduncle 50-58 cm long, with scattered scales, proximally c. 5 x 3 cm diam., distally c. 3.5 x 2 cm diam.; prophyll 25-63 cm long, borne at 8-12 cm above the base of the peduncle, long, thin, anthers 1.7-2 x 1 mm, dorsifixed, versatile, held horizontally at anthesis, the locules parallel and obtuse; pistillode cylindrical, c. 1.6 mm high and 1 mm diam. PISTILLATE FLOWERS unknown, but from fruiting material sepals 2.4-2.8 x 2.6-3.3 mm, broadly ovate with a small apiculum; petals c. 3.3 x 4.3 mm, with broad membranous wings and a small fleshy triangular apex; staminodes c. 1 mm high. FRUIT ovoid, later subglobose, 15-22 x 12-19 mm, with rounded apex; mesocarp fleshy-fibrous, endocarp fibrouswith anastomosing fibres. SEED subglobose to ellipsoid, 17-19 x 15-17 mm, slightly asymmetric with an apiculate base (1 mm), with shallow anastomosing grooves over its surface, with rounded apex, and an equatorial depression corresponding to the embryo; endosperm ruminate, with ruminations up to 6 mm deep.
Vernacular
Laafa (Ranopiso).
Biology
Dry forest or bush on stony soil, mid slope; 80-600 m. NATURAL HISTORY. J. Ratsirarson (pers. comm.) has observed both Black Parrot and Lemur catta feeding on the fruit mesocarp; he also found pig droppings full of seed of D. decaryi; he observed bees and flies visiting the flowers at anthesis.
Conservation
Vulnerable. Only known from a small area, where nearly all seed is harvested for export; fires are a threat. Population estimated at a thousand. This species is listed on CITES Annexe II.
[PW]

Bernal, R., G. Galeano, A. Rodríguez, H. Sarmiento y M. Gutiérrez. 2017. Nombres Comunes de las Plantas de Colombia. http://www.biovirtual.unal.edu.co/nombrescomunes/

Vernacular
palma triangular, triangularis
[UNAL]

Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R. & Celis, M. (eds.). 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. http://catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co

Distribution
Cultivada en Colombia; Alt. 500 - 1500 m.
Morphology General Habit
Árbol, palma solitaria
[CPLC]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/38531/2873409

Conservation
VU - vulnerable
[IUCN]

Distribution
Elevation range: 500–1500 m a.s.l. Cultivated in Colombia. Colombian departments: Antioquia, Cundinamarca, Tolima, Valle del Cauca.
Conservation
IUCN Red List Assessment (2021): VU D1.
Habit
Tree, Solitary palm.
[UPFC]

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]

Uses

Use
Leaf used for thatching; fruits eaten by children, and formerly used to prepare a fermented drink; seeds exported for horticultural use, as the species is a prized ornamental.
[PW]

Use Environmental
Environmental uses.
Use Gene Sources
Used as gene sources.
Use Food
Used for food.
Use Materials
Used as material.
[UPFC]

Common Names

English
Triangle Palm

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

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

  • Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • 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 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

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images

  • 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

  • Universidad Nacional de Colombia

    • ColPlantA database
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0