Family:
Arecaceae Bercht. & J.Presl
Genus:
Ravenea H.Wendl. ex C.D.Bouché

Ravenea albicans (Jum.) Beentje

This species is accepted, and its native range is NE. Madagascar.

[PW]
Vernacular
Hoza-tsiketra (Betsimisaraka)
Distribution
NE Madagascar; the protologue says common between Fenerive (Fenoarivo) and Antalaha, but does not cite any specimens for this distribution. The palm is certainly not common nowadays.
Conservation
Endangered. Only known from two recent localities, in one of which where we counted 40 trees with trunks, about a hundred young ones without trunks, and several seedlings. The distribution area was very limited. The second locality only came to light when the book was going to press.
Biology
Moist forest at 100-400 m alt.; steep mid slope on ultramafic soil.
General Description
Slender undergrowth palm; trunk 3-6 m, DBH up to 11 cm, covered in marcescent, litter-trapping sheath bases. Leaves c. 8 in the crown, porrect, 3-4 m long; sheath c. 72 cm, with brown-velvety tomentum over green; petiole 0-34 cm, proximally about 5 x 4 cm across, distally 3.7 x 3.3 cm across, canaliculate; rachis c. 3 .7 m long, in midleaf 2-2.2 cm wide with 8 mm wide keel, with transverse ('zebra') striping especially abaxially; leaflets stiff, in one plane, 45-47 on each side of the rachis, the proximal 62-65 x 2.2-2.5 cm, median 75-83 x 6.6-7.2 cm (the protologue gives 50-60 x 2-2.5, but in the type the apices are broken off and the leaflets are folded) (interval 4.5-5 cm), distal 20-25 x 0.8- 1.5 cm; abaxially with continuous white tomentum. Staminate inflorescences solitary, interfoliar, branching to 1 order, hardly exserted, mostly hidden among sheaths and leaf remnants; peduncle distally 12 x 6 mm, dense white-puberulous; with 3(-4?) bracts, the first being destroyed at anthesis, the ones seen 25 cm, 30 cm, 32-35 cm; rachillae 5-8 cm long, 2.5 mm across; calyx reduced to 3 small triangular teeth < 2 mm; petals elongated, triangular and acuminate, 5.5-6.5 mm, free or hardly connate at the base; episepalous stamens with large filament, appearing free among the spread petals; epipetalous stamens with filament connate to inner side of petals, the anthers therefore appearing sessile. Pistillate inflorescences solitary, interfoliar, erect, 126-150 cm, branched to 1 order; peduncle 94-120 cm, proximally 2.5-3.4 x 1.2-1.7 cm across, distally 1.5 x 0.8 cm; prophyll c. 18 x 7.5 cm; peduncular bracts seen 27 cm, 34 cm, 46 cm; rachis 8-12 cm; rachillae 8-13 in number, 17-29 cm long; pedicels 1- 2 mm; flowers unknown. Fruit unknown. Eophyll bifid, with the characteristic white abaxial surface of the leaflets.

[PW]
Use
Heart edible.

Native to:

Madagascar

Ravenea albicans (Jum.) Beentje appears in other Kew resources:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status Has image?
May 16, 2007 Baker, W.J. [1325], Madagascar K000525813 No
Jun 4, 1999 Byg, A. [25], Madagascar K000114612 No
Jan 1, 1995 Beentje, H.J. [4644], Madagascar K000114610 No
Jan 1, 1995 Beentje, H.J. [4814], Madagascar K000114611 No
Jan 1, 1995 Beentje, H.J. [4643], Madagascar K000114613 No
Beentje, H.J. [4643], Madagascar 58943.000 No
Baker, W.J. [1021], Madagascar K000112607 No
Baker, W.J. [1022], Madagascar K000112614 No
Beentje, H. [4812], Madagascar Louvelia albicans K000114508 No

First published in Kew Bull. 49: 663 (1994)

Accepted by

  • Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J. (2005). World Checklist of Palms: 1-223. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Rakotoarinivo, M., Trudgen, M.S. & Baker, W.J. (2009). The palms of the Makira protected area, Madagascar. Palms; Journal of the International Palm Society 53: 125-146.

Literature

Palmweb - Palms of the World Online

  • J. Dransfield & H. Beentje, The Palms of Madagascar. 1995

Kew Backbone Distributions

  • Rakotoarinivo, M., Trudgen, M.S. & Baker, W.J. (2009). The palms of the Makira protected area, Madagascar. Palms; Journal of the International Palm Society 53: 125-146.

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. 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