Pelagodoxa henryana

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Pelagodoxa henryana
Pelagodoxa henryana 1 (8070951509).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Subfamily: Arecoideae
Tribe: Pelagodoxeae
Genus: Pelagodoxa
Species:
P. henryana
Binomial name
Pelagodoxa henryana
Becc. (1917)

Pelagodoxa henryana is a species of palm tree. It is native to French Polynesia, where it survives on Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas Islands. A population on Raivavae in the Tubuai Islands is presumed extinct. [2] The species is threatened by habitat loss. [1]

Contents

Description

Pelagodoxa henryana grows to 12 meters tall, with a smooth brown trunk up to 15 cm in diameter marked by ring-like leaf scars. The crown consists of 15 to 20 large leaves, ascending to drooping. Leaves are up to 2.35 meters long and 1.5 meters wide, with a central rachis. Trees bear 12 to 15 inflorescences, each of which holds 15 to 30 mature fruits. Fruits are nearly spherical, 85–99 mm in diameter. They are covered in a corky exocarp which splits into irregular pyramidal warts. [3]

Range and habitat

The plant was described by Odoardo Beccari in 1917, from seeds, notes, and photographs gathered on Fatu Hiva by Charles Henry in 1916, likely in the Taipivai Valley. The trees grow in disturbed lowland rain forest near the Teuakueenui waterfall. In 2012 a second population was discovered in the Hatihe'u valley. Both populations are from 140 to 300 meters elevation in lowland wet forest dominated by the trees Hibiscus tiliaceus , Inocarpus fagifer , and coconut ( Cocos nucifera ). Trees recorded in the 1920s at Unurau and Temahara on the island of Raivavae were gone by the 1980s. Both of the Fatu Hiva populations were discovered near old house sites, and the Raivavae populations were discovered at ritual marae sites, suggesting that these populations may have been established by humans. [3]

Conservation

Because of the small number and size of the remaining populations, and the vulnerability of its remaining habitat to human disturbance, the species is assessed as Critically Endangered. [1] The tree is now cultivated in gardens on the high islands of French Polynesia, including the Marquesas, Society, and Gambier islands, and in Singapore, Hawaii, Australia, and elsewhere. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marquesas Islands</span> Archipelago in French Polynesia

The Marquesas Islands are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. Their highest point is the peak of Mount Oave on Ua Pou island, at 1,230 m (4,035 ft) above sea level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fatu-Hiva</span> Commune in French Polynesia, France

Fatu-Hiva is the southernmost island of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. With Motu Nao as its closest neighbour, it is also the most isolated of the inhabited islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hiva Oa</span> Island in French Polynesia

With its 320 square kilometres, Hiva Oa is the second largest island in the Marquesas Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. Located at 9 45' south latitude and 139 W longitude, it is the largest island of the southern Marquesas group. Around 2,200 people reside on the island. A volcano, Temetiu, is Hiva Oa's highest point with 1,200 metres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohotani</span> Island in French Polynesia

Mohotani is an uninhabited island southeast of Hiva Oa and east of Tahuata in the southern Marquesas Islands. It has an area of 15 km2. Much of the island's sparse vegetation has been destroyed by feral goats and sheep, to the extent that following its rare rains, the sea around it is stained red from runoff. Early reports describes the island as fertile, with forest and fields. When Thor Heyerdahl visited the island in 1938, there were only a few goats and remains of deserted huts and villages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fatu Huku</span> Island in French Polynesia

Fatu Huku, also known as Fatu Uku, is a small island in the Marquesas Islands, approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of Hiva Oa. Fatu Huku is less than 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) long and 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) wide and has an area of about 1.3 square kilometres (0.50 sq mi)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ua Huka</span> Island in French Polynesia

Ua Huka is one of the Marquesas Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. It is situated in the northern group of the archipelago, approximately 25 mi (40 km) to the east of Nuku Hiva, at 8°54′S139°33′W.

The Fatu Hiva monarch is a large flycatcher in the family Monarchidae. It is endemic to Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia. It lives in the native dense forest at elevations up to 2300 feet. Adults are a glossy purplish-black with plush-like feathers on their foreheads and grow to around 7 ½ inches.

<i>Pritchardia remota</i> Species of palm

Pritchardia remota, the Nihoa pritchardia, Nihoa fan palm, or Loulu, is a species of palm endemic on the island of Nihoa, Hawaiʻi, and later transplanted to the island of Laysan. It is a smaller tree than most other species of Pritchardia, typically reaching only 4–5 metres (13–16 ft) tall and with a trunk diameter of 15 centimetres (5.9 in). It is the only type of tree on the island and used to be abundant. In 1885 a wildfire ravaged the island, destroying most of the palms. Only about 700 of these trees remain, making the species endangered but numbers are slowly increasing. The palm is being cultivated in botanical gardens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ultramarine lorikeet</span> Species of bird

The ultramarine lorikeet is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae, endemic to the Marquesas Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest and plantations. It is threatened mainly by introduction of the black rat and also by deforestation.

The Marquesan kingfisher or Marquesas kingfisher is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae. It is endemic to French Polynesia. It is threatened by habitat loss and predation by introduced species, and is currently classified as Critically endangered, with fewer than 500 individuals left in the wild.

The Marquesan monarch is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. It is endemic to French Polynesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Alphitonia marquesensis is a species of plant in the family Rhamnaceae. It is a tree endemic to the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia, where it grows on the islands of Fatu Hiva, Hiva Oa, and Nuku Hiva.

Glochidion marchionicum is a species of tree in the family Phyllanthaceae. It is endemic to the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, where it grows on the islands of Nuku Hiva, Ua Pou, Ua Huka, Hiva Oa, Tahuata, and Fatu Hiva, in a variety of habitats.

Melicope fatuhivensis is a species of plant in the family Rutaceae. It is endemic to the island of Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia.

<i>Dryopteris macropholis</i> Species of fern

Dryopteris macropholis is a species of fern. It is distributed on the Marquesas Islands.

Libythea collenettei, the Marquesan snout butterfly, is a species of Nymphalid butterfly in the subfamily Libytheinae. The species was first described by Edward Bagnall Poulton and Norman Denbigh Riley in 1923. The specific name honours its original collector, Cyril Leslie Collenette, a member of the 1925 St George Expedition to French Polynesia. It is endemic to French Polynesia, L. collenettei is the only species of butterfly endemic to the Marquesas Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marquesas tropical moist forests</span>

The Marquesas tropical moist forests is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia.

<i>Pterophylla marquesana</i> Species of flowering plant

Pterophylla marquesana, formerly known as Weinmannia marquesana, is a species of plant in the family Cunoniaceae. It is a shrub or tree endemic to the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia.

Pterophylla tremuloides, formerly known as Weinmannia tremuloides, is a species of plant in the family Cunoniaceae. It is a shrub endemic to the island of Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia.

Charpentiera australis is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae. It is a tree or shrub native to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, and to Raivavae and Tubuai in the Tubuai Islands of French Polynesia.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Johnson, D. (1998). "Pelagodoxa henryana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 1998: e.T38627A10140239. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.1998.RLTS.T38627A10140239.en . Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  2. Pelagodoxa henryana Becc. Plants of the World Online . Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Hodel, Donald R. (2019). "Reassessment of Pelagodoxa" (PDF). Palms. 63 (3): 113–146. Retrieved 29 May 2023.