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

General Description

Clustering palm in tufts of 3-6, but sometimes appearing solitary. STEMS 3-12 m high, 8-12 cm diam.; internodes green, nodal scars obvious. LEAVES c. 10 in the crown, tristichous (fide Humbert & Saboureau 31725); sheath 27-50 cm long, to 7 cm wide when flattened, with sloping shoulders, adaxially red-brown, abaxially very waxy, in the distal part with dense reddish laciniate scales; petiole absent or up to 35 cm long, 1-1.8 cm diam., densely pubescent or with scattered scales; rachis c. 1.5 m long, in mid- leaf 0.9-1.3 cm wide, slightly keeled, pubescent on both surfaces; leaflets (number unknown) regular, the proximal 20-62 x 0.2-2.5 cm, median 41-67 x 1-3.5 cm (interval 1.5-3.5 cm), distal 7-35 x 0.6-2.5 cm, main veins 1-5, and with thickened margins, abaxially with scattered reddish glands on the minor veins and continuous or scattered laciniate ramenta 3-20 mm long on the midrib, apex bifid, unequally attenuate, young shoots with entire, deeply bilobed leaves 26-50 cm long with a costa 2-4 cm and lobes 24-46 cm long, or leaves with 2-4 leaflets (not seen), on a 64-75 cm long petiole. INFLORESCENCE infrafoliar, branched to 2 orders, pendulous; peduncle 20-40 (+) cm long, proximally 2-3.5 x 0.8-1.3 cm, distally 1-2 x 0.7-1.2 cm, glabrous; prophyll 38-52 x 3-8.5 cm, borne at 9-20 cm above the base of the peduncle, open for a third or over its whole length, erect, with scattered scales; peduncular bract inserted at 17-29 cm from the base of the peduncle, 27-55 (+) cm long, open over its whole length, beaked for 0.5-4 cm, with scattered scales; non-tubular peduncular bracts one or two, 2-5 cm long; rachis 10-35 cm long, glabrous, with 8-10 branched and 7-9 unbranched first order branches, first order branches with a rachis 1.5-13 cm long and 1.1-1.7 x 0.5-0.8 cm diam. proximally with 3-9 rachillae; rachis bracts conspicuous, to 2.5 cm, pale brown; rachillae 5-23 cm long, 2-4 mm diam., with dense triads (more distant in fruit), superficial or slightly sunk, with triangular acute rachilla bracts and very pronounced bracteoles. STAMINATE FLOWERS with sepals 2.7-3.2 x 3.5-4.4 mm; petals 3.5-3.8 x 2.5-3 mm; stamens 6, slightly 2-seriate (offset 0.2 mm), filaments in ripe buds 1.8-2.1 mm, cylindrical, anthers 2.2-2.4 x 0.9-1.2 mm; pistillode c. 2.4 mm high, 1.2 mm diam. PISTILLATE FLOWERS with sepals 3-4 x 3.3-5mm; petals (at young bud stage) 3.6-3.8 x c. 3.5 mm, very concave (4-5.5 x 5-7.2 mm in young fruit); staminodes not seen; gynoecium when young c. 3 mm high, 1.8 mm diam. FRUIT ellipsoid, 17- 23 x 14-22 mm, rounded at the apex; endocarp fibrous, the fibres anastomosing. SEED ellipsoid, 16-22 x 13-21 mm, obtuse at the base with a sub-aequatorial depression, rounded at apex, with slight surface grooving; endosperm ruminate, the ruminations distant and 1-7 mm deep. EOPHYLL bifid.

Biology

Moist montane forest; 1300-2200 m.

Conservation

Uncertain, but probably rare; the distribution area is not well known botanically.

Distribution

N Madagascar: Tsaratanana, Marojejy and Anjanaharibe.

Vernacular

Not recorded.

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