Livistona muelleri

Livistona (liv-iss-TOH-nah) muelleri (mule-lehr'-ee)
Jacksonville, FL. Photo by Ed Brown III
Scientific Classification
Genus: Livistona (liv-iss-TOH-nah) Species: muelleri (mule-lehr'-ee)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
Oceania
Morphology
Habit: Solitary Leaf type: Palmate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
Cairns Fan Palm.

Habitat and Distribution

Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

Jacksonville, FL. Photo by Ed Brown III

In north Queensland from the Torres Strait islands to near Innisfail. In Papua New Guinea in the Western Province; and in Indonesia, in Papua, Merauke Division. Grows in grassy open forest, woodland, moist sclerophyll forest, and less commonly on the margins of vine thickets, 0-300 m alt., and most common in areas that have a strongly seasonal rainfall pattern. (Dowe, J.L.)/Palmweb.

Description

Functionally dioecious palm. Trunk to 12 m tall, 15-25 cm in diameter; breast high, leaf scars narrow, raised, roughened and with remnant tissue, internodes narrow, grey, petiole stubs persistent, or deciduous with extreme age or fire. Leaves 25- 35 in a globose crown, held erect; petiole 70-100 cm long, 14-20 mm wide, adaxially concave, margins with single curved black spines 2-12 mm long throughout, larger and closer spaced in the proximal portion; both adaxial and abaxial surfaces with rows of corky scales, persistent, at first redbrown aging to grey; leaf-base fibres not prominent, fine, disintegrating; lamina costapalmate, regularly segmented, circular, 60-90 cm long, rigid, flat, chartaceous, adaxially olive green to grey green, abaxially dull bluish green, glabrous except for a few scales on ribs; lamina divided for 50-65% of its length, with 48-60 segments, depth of apical cleft 5-14% of the segment length; apical lobes acute, rigid; parallel veins ca 8 each side of midrib; transverse veins thinner than parallel veins. Inflorescences unbranched at the base, not sexually dimorphic, 80-160 cm long, not extending beyond the limit of the crown, branched to 4 orders; partial inflorescences 5-10; peduncular bract(s) lacking; rachis bracts loosely tubular, with silver scales, splitting and disintegrating with age, but margins not lacerate; rachillae 2-13 cm long, papillose, maroon to red. Flowers solitary or in clusters of 2-3, 1.3-1.6 mm long; sepals broadly triangular, 0.8-1 mm long, maroon, fleshy, cuspidate; petals ovate, 1.3-1.6 mm long, bright yellow, subacute; stamens about 1.4 mm long, yellow; carpels pink to maroon. Fruit ellipsoid, 10-12 mm long, 8.5-10 mm in diam., powdery blue, reddish black or bluish black; epicarp smooth, pruinose; suture line extends for full length of the fruit, marked with lip-like structures; mesocarp thin, dry; endocarp very thin, brittle; pedicel 0.5-1 mm long. Seed globose, 8-9 mm wide. Eophyll 3-ribbed. (Dowe, J.L.)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.

Culture

Cold Hardiness, Zone: 9b

Comments and Curiosities

Phenology: Flowers Sep-Apr; fruits Nov-May.

Conservation: Least concern. (Dowe, J.L.)/Palmweb.

With its numerous small, stiff leaves arranged in a very orderly and ornamental fashion, this mid-sized palm from northeastern Australia grows to about 10 m (30 ft.) tall and looks a lot like a small Copernicia. Most impressive are its large, spreading, red inflorescences. In cultivation it has proven to be surprisingly adaptable; it is easily grown in any warm temperate to tropical climate, and will resist moderate freezes. (RPS.com)