Pritchardia Seem. & H.Wendl., Bonplandia (Hannover) 10: 197 (1862)

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Placement status: taxon unplaced
https://media.e-taxonomy.eu/palmae/photos/palm_tc_165574_2.jpg

Distribution

Map uses TDWG level 3 distributions (https://github.com/tdwg/wgsrpd)
Cook Is. present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Fiji present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Hawaii present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Marquesas present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Marshall Is. present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Niue present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Samoa present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Society Is. present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Solomon Is. present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Tonga present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Trinidad-Tobago present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Tuamotu present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Vanuatu present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
About 27 recognised species from Fiji, Tonga, Danger Islands and Hawaii. All but five species are Hawaiian endemics; many are extremely rare and endangered, or not seen in the wild for several years. (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Discussion

  • Characterised by the deciduous cap of the corolla lobes and usually distinguishable by the inflorescence, which has a relatively long peduncle with flowering branches clustered at the end. (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Diagnosis

  • Moderate solitary hermaphroditic fan palms found on scattered islands through the western Pacific and with a major radiation on the Hawaiian Islands, immediately recognisable by the long peduncles and flowers in which the tip of the corolla falls off to expose the stamens. (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Biology And Ecology

  • Most of the Hawaiian species are found on the windward slopes of the islands in wet forested areas from sea level to over 1400 m altitude; a few species occur in dry forest on the leeward sides. (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Common Name

  • Loulu palms. (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Etymology

  • Honors William T. Pritchard, one-time British Consul in the Fiji Islands. (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Uses

  • The large leaves are used as fans and umbrellas. (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Description

  • Moderate, solitary, unarmed, pleonanthic, hermaphroditic tree palms. Stem erect, sometimes deeply striate, ringed with close leaf scars. Leaves induplicate, costapalmate, marcescent in immature acaulescent individuals, deciduous in trunked individuals; sheath tomentose, soon disintegrating into a mass of fibres; petiole elongate, flattened or channelled adaxially, abaxially rounded or angular, extending into the costa without interruption, usually tomentose; adaxial hastula a ridge with a central point, abaxial hastula absent; blade divided to ca. 1/3 to 1/2 its radius along adaxial folds into single-fold segments, further shallowly divided along abaxial folds, interfold filaments often present, segments stiff, held in 1 plane or variously pendulous, surfaces similar or more distinctly glaucous abaxially, usually copiously tomentose along ribs, frequently with small scales on abaxial surface, transverse veinlets conspicuous or obscure. Inflorescences interfoliar, solitary or 2–4 together in each axil, sheathed by a common prophyll, branched to 3 orders; peduncle conspicuous, stiff, ± erect to pendulous, shorter or longer than the leaves; prophyll tubular, 2-keeled, closely sheathing, densely tomentose, sometimes disintegrating into a weft of fibres; peduncular bracts several, similar to the prophyll, tending to split along one side, irregularly tattering, sometimes inflated, adaxially glabrous, densely tomentose abaxially, rarely becoming glabrous; rachis much shorter than the peduncle; rachillae straight, curved or somewhat zigzag, tending to be crowded forming a head of flowers, glabrous or sparsely to densely hairy, bearing spirally arranged, minute bracts subtending solitary flowers. Flowers sessile or borne on very low tubercles, floral bracteoles apparently absent; calyx tubular, shallowly 3-lobed distally, rather thick and coriaceous; corolla considerably exceeding the calyx, coriaceous, tubular at the base, divided distally into 3 ± elongate valvate lobes, the lobes forming a cap deciduous at anthesis; stamens 6, borne near the mouth of the corolla tube, the filament bases connate to form a conspicuous tube projecting beyond the calyx, with 6 short distinct tips bearing oblong, ± erect, latrorse anthers; gynoecium tricarpellate, the carpels wedge-shaped, distinct in the ovarian region, connate in a common elongate style bearing a minutely 3-lobed stigma, ovule basally attached, anatropous. Pollen ellipsoidal, with slight to obvious asymmetry, occasionally oblate triangular; aperture a distal sulcus, less frequently a trichotomosulcus; ectexine tectate, scabrate, or perforate, aperture margin similar; infratectum columellate; longest axis 38–53 µm [7/27]. Fruit spherical or ovoid, developing from 1 carpel only, bearing apical stigmatic and sterile carpel remains; calyx persistent; epicarp smooth, mesocarp rather thin, fleshy, fibrous, endocarp thin, woody and rather brittle, sometimes thickened at the base. Seed ± spherical, basally or subbasally attached, with rounded hilum, endosperm homogeneous, the seed coat slightly thickened by the hilum but endosperm without conspicuous intrusion of the seed coat; embryo basal. Germination remote-tubular; eophyll entire, lanceolate, plicate. Cytology: 2n = 36, 36 ±2. (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Anatomy

  • Leaf (Tomlinson 1961), roots (Seubert 1997), floral (Morrow 1965), fruit (Reddy and Kulkarni 1982), endocarp (Murray 1973). (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Fossil record

  • Leaves: Pritchardites (P. wettinioides) from the Tertiary of Italy (Bureau 1896) was placed in the synonomy of Phoenicites by Read and Hickey (1972). Silicified fruits that, “come very close to some species of Pritchardia and Licuala specially [sic] the latter” (Shete and Kulkarni 1985) are reported from the Indian Deccan Intertrappean, Maharashtra State (although the age span of these volcanic deposits is controversial, see Chapter 5). Numerous records of Pritchardia pollen and seeds are reported from the pre-human Holocene of Kaua’a Island, Hawaii (Burney et al. 2001). Thick-walled monosulcate pollen, with a distinctive narrow infratectum, Palmaepollenites kutchensis, from the Middle Eocene of Central Java (Nanggulan Formation) is compared with pollen of Pritchardia, and with two arecoid genera, Basselinia and Burretiokentia (Harley and Morley 1995). (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Relationships

  • Asmussen et al. (2006) found strong support for the monophyly of Pritchardia and moderate support for its sister relationship with Washingtonia. There is also moderate support for a sister relationship between Pritchardia and Copernicia (Uhl et al. 1995, Baker et al. in review). (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Taxonomic accounts

  • Beccari and Rock (1921). See also Hodel (1980, 2007). (Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms)A

Bibliography

    A. Dransfield, J., Uhl, N., Asmussen, C., Baker, W.J., Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008: Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms
    B. World Checklist of Arecaceae