Ravenea moorei J.Dransf. & N.W.Uhl

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/38674/10142745

Conservation

CR - critically endangered

Distribution

Comoro Islands: Grande Comore.

Biology

Secondary moist forest; 500-800 m.

Conservation

Endangered. Seed of this species was collected by DeArmand Hull in October 1993 at the north end of Grand Comore at c. 500 m, above Mitsamouli; only two female trees were seen by Mr. Hull. He considers them highly endangered due to continuing agricultural pressure on the forest in this area.

General Description

Robust tree palm. TRUNK to 20 m, 11-35 cm diam., with a hemispherical base up to 105 cm across and some 40 cm high, diameter near the crown c. 13 cm (from a photo), scars visible, internodes c. 20 cm long in the lower trunk, much shorter towards the apex; nodal scars not very prominent; bark grey-brown; base of crown bulbous. LEAVES 11-19 in crown, porrect or spreading, straight, held on edge in distal half, 2.26-3 m long; sheath up to 60 x 19.5 cm, soon splitting, margins with long fine fibers, abaxial surface covered with thick tomentum, white in unexposed areas, turning brown on exposure, becoming thinner distally; petiole 10-25 cm long, 2.4-4.5 cm wide, 1-1.5 cm thick, adaxially flattened, abaxially ± rounded, sparsely tomentose abaxially, glabrous adaxially; rachis 1.3-2.4 m long, abaxially rounded, adaxially shallowly grooved or keeled (keel to 10 mm wide, narrowing in the more distal part to a sharp narrow keel), laterally grooved, sparsely tomentose to whitewaxy abaxially, in mid-leaf 1.7-2 x 1.2 cm across; leaflets 60-80 on each side of the rachis, the proximal very crowded, 15-54 x 0.8-1.7 cm, median 49-70 x 2-2.5 cm (interval 2.5-2.8 cm), distal 12-43 x 0.4-1.7 cm, main veins c. 5, the midrib the largest, prominent adaxially, abaxially bearing a few conspicuous, close, regularly arranged large pale ramenta, transverse veinlets obscure, caducous tomentum present abaxially near the base. STAMINATE INFLORESCENCE solitary (only known dead) c. 90 cm long, branched to 2 orders; peduncle c. 35 cm long, 1.5 cm across, rounded in cross section, bracts not known; rachillae numerous, slender, up to 15 cm 1.5 mm. PISTILLATE INFLORESCENCE solitary, c. 1.5 m long, spreading or pendulous, branched to 1 order; peduncle 60-90 cm, ellipsoid in cross-section, proximally 1.9-2 x 12 mm, distally c. 15 x 11 mm, green with caducous, soft brown tomentum; prophyll tubular, 2-keeled, c. 20 x 5 cm, rather thin, bearing caducous pale brown tomentum, tattering and becoming fibrous with age; peduncular bracts with the longest one c. 130 x 5 cm; rachis c. 60 cm long, glabrous and dotted; rachillae numerous, c. 100, rather stiff, straight, glabrous, green, the proximal ones 30-47 cm with flattened base 7 x 3.5 mm, the distal ones 15-20 cm; bracteole at lowermost rachilla ovate and attenuate, c. 45 x 11 mm, pedicels 0.5-5 x 1-1.5 mm; pistillate flowers not known. FRUIT yellow to orange, globose, c. 16 mm (when dry 11-14 mm), one-seeded, stigmatic remains lateral to sub-basal, persistent sepals triangular, c. 1.2 x 1 mm; persistent petals similar but smaller; epicarp smooth, wrinkling on drying, mesocarp fleshy, c. 1.3 mm thick, endocarp not differentiated. SEED spherical, 9-11 mm diameter, dark brown.

Vernacular

Inazi (fide St. John, but this resembles Swahili for coconut).