Chrysalidocarpus ovojavavy (Eiserhardt & W.J.Baker) Eiserhardt & W.J.Baker

Eiserhardt, W.L., Dransfield, J., Rakotoarinivo, M. et al. (2018). Four new species of Dypsis (Arecaceae: Arecoideae) from Madagascar. Kew Bulletin 73: 44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-018-9776-z

Type

Madagascar, Antsiranana, Vinanivao, Masoala Peninsula, Tanany Rabe Pierre, N of Iketra, Ankorabe, 60 m a.s.l., 15°43'51"S, 50°12'54"E, 17 Nov. 2015, Baker et al. 1419 (holotype K!, isotypes MO!, P!, TAN!).

Morphology General Habit

Moderate, solitary, mid-storey palm to at least 16 m, bearing 8 spirally arranged leaves in crown

Morphology Stem

Stem 8 – 9 cm in diam., green, becoming dull grey with age, smooth; leaf scars prominent; internodes 5 – 8 cm

Morphology Leaves

Leaf c. 275 cm long including petiole, erect and recurving; sheath c. 60 cm long, with acute auricles at the mouth, deeply split to two thirds of its length, pale green, yellow-orange near apex, with white bloom throughout, with patches of grey-white powdery caducous indumentum, forming crownshaft c. 90 cm long, c. 20 cm wide; petiole c. 35 cm long, concave on adaxial surface, pale green; leaflets 53 – 58 each side of rachis, stiffly ascending, regularly arranged in one plane on each side of the rachis, concolorous, abundant ramenta on abaxial surface of midrib; basal leaflets slightly grouped, 80 – 88 cm long, 1.5 – 2 cm wide, single fold, linear-lanceolate; middle leaflets 75 – 77 cm long, 3.2 – 3.5 cm wide, linear-lanceolate, single fold, transverse veinlets inconspicuous; apical leaflets 31 – 33 cm long, 1.2 – 1.8 cm wide, linear, united c. 4 cm at base

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescence c. 210 cm long, interfoliar, widely spreading, erect, becoming pendulous with age, branched to 3 orders; prophyll c. 60 cm long, c. 8 cm wide, hidden within leaf sheath, glabrous; peduncular bract attached c. 25 cm above prophyll; peduncle c. 120 cm long, c. 3 cm wide, glabrous; primary branches 29, to 62 cm long, 4 – 5.5 cm apart, with up to 17 rachillae; rachillae 26 – 39 cm long, c. 5 mm in diam., tapering to 1 – 2 mm; rachilla bracts inconspicuous; triads 0.6 – 0.7 mm apart, spirally arranged, flowers borne in pits

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Female flower seen only at post-anthesis stage when forming young fruit, 3.9 – 4.2 mm long, 2.9 – 3.5 mm in diam., borne throughout the rachillae; sepals 3, 1.8 – 2.2 mm long, 2 – 2.5 mm wide, cucullate; petals 3, 2.2 – 2.8 mm long, 2.2 – 2.9 mm wide, acuminate; gynoecium (young fruit) c. 3.8 mm long, c. 2.5 mm in diam, ellipsoid; stigmatic remains basal Male flower not seen

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruit not seen

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seed not seen

Note

This species is distinguished by its upright, arching leaves with stiffly erect leaflets (reminiscent of Dypsis baronii (Becc.) Beentje & J. Dransf.) in combination with a large, spreading inflorescence and distinctive triangular auricles on the leaf sheaths. Dypsis ovojavavy is an elegant, moderately robust, mid-storey tree palm with stiffly ascending leaflets. The inflorescence is interfoliar, rather large and pendulous at later stages of development. Its crownshaft is also distinctive, being composed of pale green leaf sheaths, tinged with orange-yellow and with a white bloom throughout, and triangular auricles at the apex. It clearly belongs to the informal Group 3 of Dransfield & Beentje (1995) where it is distinctive in its solitary habit, large spreading inflorescence and, most particularly by the crowded stiff ascending leaflets. Delineation of species in this group has proved to be problematic, with great variation within already described taxa (such as D. lutescens (H. Wendl.) Beentje & J. Dransf. and D. baronii), but nevertheless, D. ovojavavy does not fit any already described taxon. The epithet is derived from the vernacular name locally applied to the palm, ovojavavy (pronounced “oov-jah-vav”). Ovojavavy is a compound word consisting of hovotra (palm heart) and zavavy (young girl), meaning “girl’s palm”.

Distribution

Known only from the type locality on the eastern side of the Masoala peninsula (Madagascar).

Ecology

Primary lowland humid forest. Deep humus over white sand.

Vernacular

Ovojavavy (Betsimisaraka).

Conservation

Critically Endangered (CR) [B2a,b (iii)+D]. The only known population is recorded from a forest fragment at the edge of the Masoala National Park where human settlement occurs. A decline in the quality of the habitat will lead to the disturbance of the long-term survival of the remaining population and may thus increase the extinction risk of this species.