Dransfieldia

Dransfieldia micrantha is an endemic plant species in New Guinea from the palm family ( Arecaceae ). It is the only species of the genus Dransfieldia.

Features

Dransfieldia is a multi-stemmed, non-reinforced palm, rarely it forms only one tribe. The strain reached a diameter of 2 to 5 cm in height up to 10 m. The root surface is smooth, often reddish young, later brown. The internodes are 4.0 to 19.5 cm long. The crown consists of 4-7 leaves. Young leaves are reddish at first and then green. With petiole they are 1 to 2 m long. The leaf sheath is 30 to 45 cm long. The petiole is 10 to 20 cm long. On each side of the rachis are 12 to 27 leaflets. The leaflets of the leaf center are 52 to 76 cm long and 2-5 cm wide, which are at the blade tip 18 to 36 cm long.

The inflorescence is 34-60 cm long, of which the peduncle occupies from 12 to 26 cm. All axes of the inflorescence are red to purple at flowering time. The cover sheet 11,5 up to 27 cm long and 1.4 to 2 cm wide and brown to blossom. There are two or three prophylls the peduncle, the first 20 to 24 cm long and 1.7 to 3.5 cm wide, and the remaining 0.5 to 25 cm long and 5-12 mm wide. The inflorescence axis is 9-17 cm long, from her go from 11 to 14 lateral axes that are up to 35 cm long. Each of which bears up to 7 side again axes from 8.5 to 29 cm long. In them, the flowers are in threes in the axils of small, up to 1 mm long bracts. At 5 cm lateral axis are 15 to 28 of these triads.

The male flowers are 4.5 to 5.5 × 2.2 to 3.4 mm in size shortly before flowering, and purple. The sepals are fleshy. The petals are fused together in the lowest part. There are 15 to 19 white stamens, their anthers 1.5 to 3.1 mm long, the anthers 1.0 to 1.3 mm. The ovary rudiment is large than 0.5 mm.

The female flowers are 3.8 to 4.3 x 2.2 to 3.4 mm in size shortly before flowering and also purple. The three staminodes are usually 0.3 to 0.5 mm long. The gynoecium is including scars around 3.0 x 1.6 mm in size and ovate. It is pseudomonomer, has only a fruit tray with an ovule, but three scars.

The fruit is ellipsoidal and 15.0 to 15.9 x 7.6 x 9.5 mm in size. The exocarp is thin, sleek and black to maturity. Epicarp and mesocarp fibrous are 0.7 mm thick, the endocarp 0.3 mm. The latter is brown. The seeds are 8.9 to 11.0 x 6.1 to 7.0 mm in size. The scar is located basally, the lateral raphe. The endosperm is deeply grooved ( ruminat ), the embryo is located basally.

Dissemination

The species is found only in the west of the Indonesian part of New Guinea. Locations are known from the island Waigeo, Kapala Burung, the lower slopes of the mountains and Wondiwoi from near the Etna Bay. It grows in the understory of lowland rain forests and the forests of the hill slopes and back in 10 to 180 m above sea level.

System

The species was first described in 1872 by micranthum ODOARDO Beccari as Ptychosperma. The classification in the genus Ptychosperma was objected in 1883 by Joseph Dalton Hooker, who put them in the genus Rhopaloblaste. Harold Moore put them in the genus Straight spathe. In general, the basionym but was regarded as the accepted name. 2006, the species was then transferred to a separate genus Dransfieldia based on morphological and molecular genetic characteristics. The genus name honors the Palm researcher John Dransfield of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Molecular genetic analyzes point to the purely Caledonian subtribe Clinospermatinae as a sister group of Dransfieldia, but with low statistical support. Therefore, although the nature of the tribe Areceae was assigned, but none within this subtribe.

Use

The logs are processed into harpoons. The leaves are used for thatching. In the U.S. and in Australia the species is considered as an ornamental plant, but not widely used commercially.

Documents

• William J. Baker, Scott Zona, Charlie D. Hautubun, Carl E. Lewis, Rudi A. Maturbong, Maria V. Norup: Dransfieldia ( Arecaceae ) - A New Palm Genus from Western New Guinea. Systematic Botany, Volume 31, 2006, pp. 61-69.