Bentinckia nicobarica

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Bentinckia nicobarica
Bentinckia nicobarica-1-bsi-yercaud-salem-India.JPG
Bentinckia nicobarica at the Botanical Survey of India's National Orchidarium and Experimental Garden (NOEG) in Yercaud, Tamil Nadu
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Genus: Bentinckia
Species:
B. nicobarica
Binomial name
Bentinckia nicobarica
Synonyms

Orania nicobarica Kurz

Bentinckia nicobarica is a species of flowering plant in the palm family Arecaceae. It is native to lowland tropical forests of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal, where it occurs mainly in the Nicobar Islands and in parts of the southern Andaman Islands. [2] [3] Owing to its restricted range, small and fragmented populations and continuing habitat loss it is assessed as an Endangered species on the IUCN Red List. [1] [2] [4]

Contents

The species is sometimes known in English as the Nicobar palm. [5]

Taxonomy

The species was first described as Orania nicobarica by Wilhelm Sulpiz Kurz in 1875, based on material from the Nicobar Islands, and was transferred to the genus Bentinckia by Odoardo Beccari in 1885. [3] The genus Bentinckia is endemic to India and comprises two species, B. condapanna from the southern Western Ghats and B. nicobarica from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. [6]

A recent lectotypification has clarified the application of the basionym Orania nicobarica to Bentinckia nicobarica and stabilised its nomenclature. [7]

Distribution and habitat

Bentinckia nicobarica is native to the Nicobar and southern Andaman Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean. Floristic and conservation studies treat it as restricted chiefly to the Nicobar group, where it has been recorded from islands including Great Nicobar, Katchal, Nancowry, Camorta, Trinkat and neighbouring small islands. [2] [8] Field observations and herbarium records also document populations in parts of the South Andaman district, and recent botanical treatments list the species as native from the South Andaman Islands to the Nicobar Islands. [3] [9]

The palm grows in lowland tropical rainforest, typically on steep slopes, along stream valleys and on the margins of grassy clearings in evergreen forest, from near sea level to a few hundred metres in elevation. [2] [10] It is often found growing together with other palms such as Areca catechu , Pinanga manii and Rhopaloblaste augusta . [11] [12]

Description

Bentinckia nicobarica is a solitary, monoecious palm reaching about 20 m in height, occasionally taller, with a slender, erect stem about 25 cm in diameter. [13] [14] The trunk is pale grey to whitish and ringed with leaf scars. The crown consists of arching, pinnate leaves borne above a relatively long, light green to yellow-green crownshaft.

The inflorescences are branched and emerge from below the crownshaft. The small cream-coloured flowers are spirally arranged along the axes. [15] The fruits are globose, turning dark purplish to black when ripe, about 1 cm in diameter, each containing a single seed that is grooved on one side. [2]

The stems are used locally by Nicobarese communities as a building material for houses and fences and as a substitute for timber in small constructions. [11] [4] Traditional utilisation, together with habitat modification, has contributed to the reduction of mature individuals in some localities. [2]

Conservation

Bentinckia nicobarica has a narrow geographic range and occurs in small, scattered subpopulations. IUCN assessments list it as Endangered under criteria C2a, based on its restricted distribution, small total population size and observed and projected decline in the number of mature individuals. [1] [2] [4] The principal threats include habitat loss and degradation through clearing of lowland rainforest for settlements, infrastructure, agriculture and plantations, as well as cyclones and other natural disturbances affecting the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago. [2] [16]

Recent field surveys have reported additional wild subpopulations within its range, but these are small and fragmented and do not alter the overall threatened status of the species. [17] Conservation recommendations include protection of remaining forest habitats, control of grazing and cutting, and monitoring of known populations. [2]

Ex situ conservation efforts have been established in several botanic gardens and field gene banks in India. Living collections of Bentinckia nicobarica are maintained at the Indian Botanic Garden in Howrah, at the Field Gene Bank of the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute in Thiruvananthapuram, and at the Dhanikhari Experimental Garden cum Arboretum (DEGCA) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. [18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Johnson, D. (1998). "Bentinckia nicobarica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 1998 e.T38450A10120169. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.1998.RLTS.T38450A10120169.en . Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Sreekumar, P.V. & Coomar, T. (1999). Bentinckia nicobarica: an endemic, endangered palm of the Nicobar Islands. Palms 43(3): 118–121.
  3. 1 2 3 "'Bentinckia nicobarica' (Kurz) Becc". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 Kulkarni, A.R.; Mulani, R.M. (2004). "Indigenous palms of India" (PDF). Current Science. 86 (12): 1598–1603. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  5. ↑ Kacker, Soham (April 2023). "The Imperiled Nicobar Palm". Sanctuary Asia. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  6. ↑ Kamble, Mayur Yashwant; Franklin Benjamin, J.H.; Poulose, Vivek C. (2024). "Taxonomic significance of seeds and seedling morphology in the threatened Indian endemic palm genus Bentinckia (Arecaceae)". Journal of Threatened Taxa. 16 (10): 26030–26034. doi:10.11609/jott.7944.16.10.26030-26034 . Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  7. ↑ Lakra, R. (2022). "Lectotypification of Orania nicobarica, the basionym of Bentinckia nicobarica (Arecaceae)". Nelumbo. 64 (1): 1–4.
  8. ↑ Mathew, S.P.; Abraham, S. (1994). "The vanishing palms of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India". Principes. 38: 100–104.
  9. ↑ "Nicobar Palm (Bentinckia nicobarica)". Flowers of India. 22 February 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  10. ↑ Manohara, T.N.; Krishnappa, V.K.; Kumar, S.M. (2010). "Diversity and conservation of palms in Andaman & Nicobar Archipelago, India". Biodiversity and Conservation. 19 (13): 3655–3666. doi:10.1007/s10531-010-9918-6.
  11. 1 2 Brandis, D. (1906). Indian Trees: An Account of Trees, Shrubs, Woody Climbers, Bamboos and Palms Indigenous or Commonly Cultivated in the British Indian Empire (3rd reprint 1990 ed.). Dehra Dun: Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh.
  12. ↑ Mathew, S.P.; Abraham, S. (1994). "The vanishing palms of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India". Principes. 38: 100–104.
  13. ↑ Henderson, A. (2009). Palms of Southern Asia. Princeton: Princeton University Press. pp. 166–167.
  14. ↑ "Nicobar Palm (Bentinckia nicobarica)". Flowers of India. 22 February 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  15. ↑ "Nicobar Palm (Bentinckia nicobarica)". Flowers of India. 22 February 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  16. ↑ Kacker, Soham (April 2023). "The Imperiled Nicobar Palm". Sanctuary Asia. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  17. ↑ Lakra, R. (2023). "On the discovery of new sub-populations of Bentinckia nicobarica (Kurz) Becc. (Arecaceae) from the Nicobar Islands, India". Nelumbo. 65 (2): 145–150.
  18. ↑ Kamble, Mayur Yashwant; Franklin Benjamin, J.H.; Poulose, Vivek C. (2024). "Taxonomic significance of seeds and seedling morphology in the threatened Indian endemic palm genus Bentinckia (Arecaceae)". Journal of Threatened Taxa. 16 (10): 26030–26034. doi:10.11609/jott.7944.16.10.26030-26034 . Retrieved 14 November 2025.
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