Tahina spectabilis

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Tahina spectabilis
Tahina spectabilis full.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Subfamily: Coryphoideae
Tribe: Chuniophoeniceae
Genus: Tahina
J. Dransf. & Rakotoarinivo, 2008
Species:
T. spectabilis
Binomial name
Tahina spectabilis
J. Dransf. & Rakotoarinivo, 2008

Tahina spectabilis, the tahina palm, also called blessed palm or dimaka is a species of gigantic palm (family Arecaceae, or Palmae) that is found only in the Analalava District of northwestern Madagascar where its range is only twelve acres (4.8 hectares), one of the most extreme examples of endemism known. It can grow 18 m (59 ft) tall and has palmate leaves over 5 m (16 ft) across. The trunk is up to 20 in (51 cm) thick, and sculpted with conspicuous leaf scars. An individual tree was discovered when in flower in 2007; it was first described the following year as a result of photographs being sent to Kew Gardens in the United Kingdom for identification. The palm is thought to live for up to fifty years before producing an enormous inflorescence up to 19.5 ft (5.9 m) in height and width, surpassed in size only by Corypha spp. and by Metroxylon salomonense and, being monocarpic, subsequently dying. The inflorescence, a panicle, consists of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of three-flowered clusters which bloom in three consecutive, synchronized "cohorts" or flushes of bloom. [2] [3] The nearest equivalent pattern of flowering is in the flowering vine Bougainvillea where the three flowers bloom sequentially, but not synchronized. Fewer than one hundred adult individuals of the species are thought to exist and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it as "critically endangered".

Contents

Taxonomy

The species, which produces countless flowers and (after fruiting) dies, is sufficiently different from other known palms to justify the creation of the monotypic genus Tahina, [4] which is now included with three other genera in the tribe Chuniophoeniceae; [5] the other members being found in the Arabian peninsula, Thailand and China. Fewer than one hundred individuals of the species are thought to exist. [6] [7]

Tahina spectabilis foliage Tahina spectabilis.jpg
Tahina spectabilis foliage
Seeds of Tahina spectabilis, with a ruler for scale Graines de Tahina 5393.jpg
Seeds of Tahina spectabilis, with a ruler for scale

Description

The palm is one of the largest of the 170 palm species native to Madagascar, having a trunk up to 18 m (59 ft) tall and leaves which are over 5 m (16 ft) in diameter. [8]

Tahina spectabilis normally appears much like other palms. However, when it flowers, which John Dransfield of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew estimates as occurring after 30 to 50 years, the stem tip grows a large inflorescence that bursts into branches of hundreds of flowers. The drain on nutrients this display entails results in the death of the organism within several months. [9] This leads to the common name for the palm – Suicide Palm. [10]

Discovery

The tahina palm was discovered by French cashew plantation manager Xavier Metz and his family, who were strolling through a remote northwestern region of Madagascar in 2007 when they came across a flowering individual and sent photos to the Kew Gardens for identification. [9]

Its name is derived from "Tahina", a Malagasy word meaning "to be protected" or "blessed", being the given name of Anne-Tahina Metz, the daughter of its discoverer, while "spectabilis" means spectacular in Latin. [8]

It was subsequently chosen as one of the top ten species discoveries of 2008 by the International Institute for Species Exploration. [11]

Related Research Articles

<i>Roystonea</i> Genus of palms

Roystonea is a genus of eleven species of monoecious palms, native to the Neotropics, in the Caribbean, the adjacent coasts of Florida in the United States, Mexico, Central America and northern South America. Commonly known as the royal palms, the genus was named after Roy Stone, a U.S. Army engineer. It contains some of the most recognizable and commonly cultivated palms of tropical and subtropical regions.

Roystonea altissima is a species of palm which is endemic to hillsides and mountain slopes near the interior of Jamaica. The name altissima is Latin for "highest", however they are not the tallest species in the genus Roystonea. They are usually found just over sea-level to 760 metres (2,490 ft) in elevation.

<i>Dypsis decaryi</i> Species of plant in the family Arecaceae

Dypsis decaryi is a species of flowering plant in the Arecaceae family. It is commonly known as the triangle palm. It is indigenous to the Madagascan rainforest. Some specimens grow to a height of some 15 metres (49 ft) in the wild. It is relatively new to cultivation however, so outside its native habitat it rarely achieves anything like that height. The leaves are about 2.5 metres in length, growing almost upright from the trunk and arching gracefully outward about a metre from their tips. The leaf bases are arranged in three vertical columns set about 120 degrees apart on the main stem, forming a triangular shape in cross section. This shape has given rise to the palm's common name.

<i>Beccariophoenix</i> Genus of palms

Beccariophoenix is a genus of three species of Arecaceae (palms), native to Madagascar. The genus is closely related to the Cocos, or coconut genus, and notably Beccariophoenix alfredii is similar in appearance to the coconut palm. It was named after Odoardo Beccari (1843-1920).

<i>Chuniophoenix</i> Genus of palms

Chuniophoenix is a genus of palm tree named after Chun Woon-Young, then director of the Botanical Institute, Sun Yat Sen University, Guangzhou. It contains three known species, native to southern China and Vietnam. Chuniophoenix is a member of tribe Chuniophoeniceae, a small group of palms that exhibit great morphological diversity and interesting biogeography. The tribe includes four genera: Chuniophoenix with 3 species in China and Vietnam, Kerriodoxa (monotypic) in Peninsular Malaysia and Thailand, Nannorrhops (monotypic) from Arabia to Afghanistan, and Tahina (monotypic) in Madagascar.

<i>Dypsis ambositrae</i> Species of plant in the family Arecaceae

Dypsis ambositrae is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is found only in Madagascar where it is threatened by habitat loss.

Dypsis onilahensis is a species of palm tree in the family Arecaceae. It is endemic to Madagascar as is reflected in the species name (onilahensis) referring to the Onilahy River, south of Toliara. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Dypsis singularis is a species of flowering plant in the Palm Family. It is found only on the island of Madagascar. It is threatened by habitat loss. It is remarkable for its height to width ratio; the greatest of any tree. It is up to 19ft 8in tall while being only 2/5ths of a inch in diameter, a length/width ratio of 600 fold.

<i>Latania</i> Genus of palms

Latania, commonly known as latan palm or latania palm, is a genus of flowering plant in the palm tree family, native to the Mascarene Islands in the western Indian Ocean.

Masoala kona is a species of flowering plant in the Palm Family. It is a palm endemic to Madagascar, where it grows in rainforests. There are fewer than 60 individuals estimated to remain. Its most remarkable feature is that its leaves bear the longest "segments" of any plant; up to 8.2 feet in length. A leaf segment has a broad attachment to the rachis rather than a petiolule. It differs from a lobed leaf in that the lamina (leaf) is not continuous. The species is threatened by habitat loss.

Ravenea musicalis, or the river palm, is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. Also known by the Antanosy word "torendriky," meaning "submerged trunk", R. musicalis is known for being the only truly aquatic palm tree. Like many mangrove trees, R. musicalis seeds germinate within the fruit, and the seedling takes root underwater. as much as eight feet below the surface. Endemic to Madagascar, R. musicalis was first discovered in 1993 by Henk Beentje on an expedition funded by the McDonald's restaurant. This palm is listed in the IUCN Red List. This tree is harvested by local people primarily for building material and food. Over-harvesting, habitat degradation and habitat loss threaten the remaining populations. Horticulturalists prize R. musicalis for its rarity and unique life history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coryphoideae</span> Subfamily of palms

The Coryphoideae is one of five subfamilies in the palm family, Arecaceae. It contains all of the genera with palmate leaves, excepting Mauritia, Mauritiella and Lepidocaryum, all of subfamily Calamoideae, tribe Lepidocaryeae, subtribe Mauritiinae. However, all Coryphoid palm leaves have induplicate (V-shaped) leaf folds, while Calamoid palms have reduplicate leaf folds. Pinnate leaves do occur in Coryphoideae, in Phoenix, Arenga, Wallichia and bipinnate in Caryota.

<i>Beccariophoenix alfredii</i> Species of palm

Beccariophoenix alfredii, also known as the high plateau coconut palm, is a recently discovered species of Arecaceae (palms), endemic to Madagascar. It is in the genus Beccariophoenix, and is closely related to the genus Cocos. Beccariophoenix alfredii is very similar in appearance to the coconut palm, although somewhat cold hardy, making it a good look-alike for the coconut in cooler climates.

Dypsis brevicaulis is a species of flowering plant in the Arecaceae family. It is a dwarf palm found on only three sites in Madagascar, with fewer than fifty plants ever found in the wild. The plant is part of the IUCN Sampled Red List Index for Plants, a study of representative species from all over the world which is studying extinction trends for plants.

Dypsis humilis is a rare species of stemless palm that was discovered in Madagascar in 2007 by a collaboration between botanists from Madagascar and Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. Fewer than ten plants were observed in an area that is threatened by logging and other human activity.

John Dransfield is an honorary research fellow and former head of palm research at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom, as well as being an authority on the phylogenetic classification of palms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caryoteae</span> Tribe of plants

Caryoteae is a tribe in the palm family Arecaceae, distributed across Southeast Asia, from southern India and Sri Lanka east to Vanuatu and northernmost Queensland, Australia. It was long considered a member of subfamily Arecoideae on the basis of its inflorescences, which resemble those of tribe Iriarteeae, and the flowers arranged in triads, which are common across Arecoideae. However, phylogenetic studies based on DNA repeatedly link Caryoteae to subfamily Coryphoideae. Caryoteae do have leaves with induplicate folds, a feature found in most Coryphoid palms, but unlike most Coryphoideae, the leaves are pinnate or bipinnate (Caryota). Phoenix is the only other Coryphoid genus with induplicate, pinnate leaves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borasseae</span> Tribe of palms

Borasseae is a tribe in the palm subfamily Coryphoideae. The tribe ranges from southern Africa and Madagascar north through the Arabian Peninsula to India, Indochina, Indonesia and New Guinea. Several genera are restricted to islands in the Indian Ocean. The two largest genera, Hyphaene and Borassus, are also the most widespread.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuniophoeniceae</span> Tribe of palms

Chuniophoeniceae is a tribe of palms in subfamily Coryphoideae of plant family Arecaceae. The four genera within the tribe are morphologically dissimilar and do not have overlapping distributions. Three of the genera are monotypic, while the fourth genus (Chuniophoenix) has three species.

Dypsis beentjei is an acaulescent flowering plant belonging to the family of palm trees, Arecaceae.

References

  1. Rakotoarinivo, M.; Dransfield, J. (2012). "Tahina spectabilis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2012: e.T195893A2430024. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T195893A2430024.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. Dransfield, John; Mijoro Rakotoarinivo; William J. Baker; Ross P. Bayton; Jack B. Fisher; James W. Horn; Bruno Leroy; Xavier Metz (2008). "A New Coryphoid Palm Genus from Madagascar". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 156 (1): 79=91. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2007.00742.x.
  3. "Giant Palm Trees Puzzle Scientists". BBC News. 17 January 2008. Retrieved February 26, 2008.
  4. "Top 10 - 2009: A Palm that Flowers Itself to Death". Arizona State University. Archived from the original on May 25, 2009.
  5. Dransfield, John; Rakotoarinivo, Mijoro; Baker, William J.; Bayton, Ross P.; Fisher, Jack B.; Horn, James W.; Leroy, Bruno; Metz, Xavier (January 2008). "A new Coryphoid palm genus from Madagascar". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 156 (1): 79–91. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2007.00742.x.
  6. "Giant palm found on Madagascar flowers itself to death", AFP, 16 January 2008 (hosted by Yahoo! News) Archived 26 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Self-destructing palm tree discovered in Madagascar", "Associated Press", 16 January 2008 (hosted by CNN) Archived 19 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  8. 1 2 "New Genus of Self-destructive Palm found in Madagascar". Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. January 2008. Archived from the original on January 19, 2009. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  9. 1 2 Eccleston, Paul (17 January 2008). "Self destructing palm tree found in Madagascar". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  10. Baillie, Jonathan E M; Ellen R Butcher (2012). Priceless or Worthless? (PDF). Zoological Society of London. p. 72. ISBN   978-0-900881-67-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-21.
  11. Arizona State University (May 23, 2009). "Pea-sized Seahorse, Bacteria That Life In Hairspray, Caffeine-free Coffee Among Top 10 New Species Of 2008". ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 22, 2014.