Pritchardia gordonii Hodel, Palms (1999+). 51(Suppl.): S-15 (2007)

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Distribution

Map uses TDWG level 3 distributions (https://github.com/tdwg/wgsrpd)
Hawaiian Is. present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Moist to wet forest on very steep slopes, Kohala Mountains, Hawaii, 400-500 m elevation. Pritchardia gordonii is known from only about 23 mature palms in two populations about 100 meters apart. The more southerly population consists of about eight mature palms and several juveniles and seedlings while the northerly population includes about 15 mature palms. (Hodel, D. 2007. A Review of the Genus Pritchardia. Palms 51(4): Special Supplement S 1-53.)A

Discussion

  • Pritchardia gordonii is very similar to P. schattaueri from South Kana, near the opposite end of the island of Hawaii. They share the very tall habit, leaf blades incompletely covered abaxially with lepidia and with pendulous segment tips, glabrous rachillae, and large fruits. Pritchardia schattaueri differs, however, in its leaf blades with broader and less deepiy bifid segment tips (resulting in the tips appearing iess dramaticaily pendulous), inflorescences shorter than or about equaling the petioles, and ionger-than-wide fruits. (Hodel, D. 2007. A Review of the Genus Pritchardia. Palms 51(4): Special Supplement S 1-53.)A

Diagnosis

  • P. schattaueri affinis sed inflorescentiis quam petiolis longioribus et fructibus latioribus quam longioribus differt. (Hodel, D. 2007. A Review of the Genus Pritchardia. Palms 51(4): Special Supplement S 1-53.)A

Biology And Ecology

  • Associated genera include Metrosideros, Perrottetia, Tetraplasandra, Urera and Xylosma. (Hodel, D. 2007. A Review of the Genus Pritchardia. Palms 51(4): Special Supplement S 1-53.)A

Conservation

  • Threats to the survival of Pritchardia gordonii I include rats and invasive, exotic weeds such as strawberry guava (Psidium cattleianum), Indian fleabane (Pluchea indica) and assorted grasses. The conservation status of P. gordonii is probably best considered endangered because of the small number of mature palms and the threats to their survival. It is apparently cuitivated in Wahiawa Botanical Garden (HBG 73.0074) of the Honolulu Botanic Gardens system on Oahu from the late Earl Bishop's 1973 collection. (Hodel, D. 2007. A Review of the Genus Pritchardia. Palms 51(4): Special Supplement S 1-53.)A

Etymology

  • The name honors Rick Gordon, co-collector of the type, who for 40 years has been the ditch man for the Kohala Ditch Company and later the Surety Kohala Corporation that supplied water to sugar cane and other consumers in the Kohala area of Hawaii. More recently Rick has also been responsible for trail and cabin maintenance in the Kohala Forest Reserve for the State of Hawaii, Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife. Since the late 1960s, Rick has been aware of these palms, developed a special fondness for their conservation and protection and brought them to the attention of others. (Hodel, D. 2007. A Review of the Genus Pritchardia. Palms 51(4): Special Supplement S 1-53.)A

Description

  • Trunk to 20 m tall, 25 cm diam., longitudinally grooved, faintly ringed, internodes 7.5-10 cm. Leaves 25-30, erect to spreading; leaf bases to 50 cm long, 23 em wide proximally, tapering to 7.5 cm wide distally; petioles 75-125 cm long, 7.5 cm wide at base, 3.5-4 cm wide and 1.2 cm thick at blade, convex adaxially, rounded abaxially, margins sharp and proximally with moderate to abundant, tan fibers, densely covered abaxially with whitish, mealy indumentuffi; hastula semicircular, 1.2 cm high, blade 1 x 1.5 m, costapalmate for ca. 23 cm, deeply divided into ca. 70 segments, middle-lateral ones the largest, to 92 x 5 cm, free apical portion to 46 cm long, these bifid for 41 cm, tips pendulous, long-acuminate, glossy light green adaxially, light green and sparsely dotted with minute scales abaxially, whitish indumentum on petiole extending onto segment folds abaxially, most proximal segments 46 x 0.5-1 cm, ribbon-like, pendulous. Inflorescences 6-10, interfoliar, to 1.2 m long, arching, slightly shorter than or equaling petioles in flower, equaling or exceeding petioles but shorter than leaf 5-16 blades in fruit, composed of up to 3 long axes each terminating in a panicle, peduncles arising from a common base and sheathed by a common prophyll, middle axis the longest, to 1 m long, each axis rounded, 1.6 cm diam.; prophyll to 30 cm long, 2-keeled, 5-7 cm wide and 1 cm thick, 1st peduncular bract attached 6 or 7 em distal of prophyll attachment, to 45 em long and sheathing the bases of the 3 axes, up to 7 additional peduncular bracts per axis, brown, papery, moderately covered abaxially where protected with scales to 3 mm long, proximal bracts lanceolate, acute, ± tightly sheathing, distal bracts broadly lanceolate, inflated, loosely sheathing, most distal bract the smallest, to 12.5 em long and equaling second most distal bract, both extending on to and covering ca. 1/2 of panicle; panicles branched to 2 orders, rachis to 13 em long, proximal branches with sub-peduncle 2.5-3.5 cm long, sub-rachis 2.5 cm long and with up to 4 rachillae each, distal branches simple rachillae; rachillae to 13 cm long, 2 or 3 mm diam., terete, strongly flexuose, all parts of panicle glabrous, bracts subtending rachillae and panicle branches 5 x 0.8 mm. Flowers 5-8 mm apart; in bud 10 x 5 mm, at anthesis 12 x 12 mm, yellowish green; calyx 7.5 x 7.5 mm, coriaceolls, sepals imbricate at the apex, mucronate; corolla tubular, greatly exceeding calyx, lobes 8 x 3 mm, lanceolat?, acute, light green, prominently nerved adaxially, faintly nerved abaxially; staminal tube exserted 2 mm above calyx, stamens spreading, borne on filaments 1.5 mm long, anthers 3-4 mm long, oblong, dorsifixed near base; pistil 7 x 3 mm, spindle-shaped, ovary 3 x 3 mm, style 4 mm long, exserted 5 mm above staminal ring, columnar, tapered apically, bottom of pistil seated 3 mm above bottom of calyx. Fruits 50 x 60 mm, oblate, dark brown to black; mesocarp 13 mm thick; seeds 32 x 32 mm. (Hodel, D. 2007. A Review of the Genus Pritchardia. Palms 51(4): Special Supplement S 1-53.)A

Materials Examined

  • U.S.A. Hawaii. Hawaii: Kohala Forest Reserve, ca. 100 m down steep, east-facing slope of Honopue Gulch, 19 July 2006, D. R. Hodel 2010 (with R. Gordon, J. Marcus & K. Morris) (BISH); Bishop 1831 (HAW). (Hodel, D. 2007. A Review of the Genus Pritchardia. Palms 51(4): Special Supplement S 1-53.)A

Bibliography

    A. Hodel, D. 2007. A Review of the Genus Pritchardia. Palms 51(4): Special Supplement S 1-53.
    B. World Checklist of Arecaceae