Solitary slender unarmed pleonanthic monoecius undergrowth palm, to 5 m tall. Stem to 2.5 cm diam.; internodes 2.5-8 cm long. Crownshaft elongate, cylindrical, slightly swollen, to 34 cm long. Leaves to 5 in crown; sheath to 27 cm long, greyish-green, covered with greyish-brown scaly indumentum; leaf without sheath to 90 cm long; petiole c. 16-35 x 0.7 cm, flattened or only slightly channelled adaxially, convex abaxially, covered with indumentum as the sheath; rachis angular, bifacial adaxially and nearly glabrous, obtusely rounded abaxially and covered with brown scaly indumentum. Leaflets 6- 10 on each side of the rachis, unequal, ? sigmoidal, inequidistant, c. 2.5 - 7.5 cm apart, the costae above sharply elevated, slightly glaucescent below when fresh, but drying brownish, ramentae present along the main costae below; basal leaflets 1-2-costate, c. 10-16 x 0.8-1.7 cm; middle leaflets 1-6-costate, c. 17-25 x 1.3-7 cm; apical leaflets 6-9-costate, c. 14 x 8 cm, joined at the base to 10 cm along the rachis, + cuneiform, the tips incised to as many lobes as there are costae, the lobes to 2 cm long and further incised at their tips to 8 mm deep. Inflorescence infrafoliar, pendulous; prophyll not known; peduncle c. 3-5 x 0.5 cm, flattened; main axis to 4.5 cm long, tapering distally; rachillae often 6-8, rarely to 11, borne 0.7-2 cm apart, each c. 11-19 cm long, flattened and ± straight, to 2 mm wide, 1 mm thick when dry; the subtending bract very narrowly annulate, shortly apiculate at middle part to 0.5 mm; peduncle and rachillae purplish-red when young. Staminate and pistillate flowers not known. Infructescence pendulous. Fruiting perianth depressed-cupular, 2 mm high, 3 mm across, with a flat base and contracted mouth, the sepals and petals free and imbricate, subequal, glabrous, glossy when dry; the subtending bract a very low explanate, semi-annular collar. Fruit distichous, c. 8-13 mm apart, green ripening red then purplish-black, fusiform-ellipsoid or ovoid, c. 1.2 x 0.6 cm, shortly beaked; epicarp drying light brown and finely striate; mesocarp thinly fibrous; seed ovoid, c. 1.0 x 0.5 cm, acute at tip, caudiculate at base; endosperm ruminate; embryo basal.
Distribution
Luzon (Nueva Vizcaya and Quezon Provs.)
Biology
In dipterocarp forest; c. 800 m. Endemic.
Diagnostic
P. isabelense Becc. habitu, magnitudine et characteribus infructescentiarum fructuumque similis sed indumento squamoso vaginis foliorum cineraceo-brunneo, foliolis brevioribus subtus subglaucis in siccitate brunneolis differt.
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2023. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2023. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/