Basselinia favieri

Habitat

Basselinia favieri

Habitat

Scientific Classification

Genus:	Basselinia
Species:	favieri

Synonyms

None set.

Native Continent

Oceania

Morphology

Habit:	Solitary
Leaf type:	Pinnate

Culture

Survivability index

Common names

None.

Habitat and Distribution

Very wet forest on the east side of Mt. Panie, north-east New Caledonia.

Description

This is a medium sized emergant palm, to about 12m. Trunk type: Crownshaft, Inflorescence: Flower emerges below crownshaft, Infructescence: Fruit when ripe, has the appearance of black olives. Even though it has the reputation of being one of the easiest of the Basselinia to grow, this lovely palm is by no means commonly encountered even in enthusiasts collections. In its native home New Caledonia it is found only in one location in tropical rainforest in the northeast of the island between 300 and 500 m (1000 and 1600 ft.) elevation. Basselinia favieri forms a slender, smooth, brown trunk to about 10 m (33 ft.) tall that holds a fairly dense crown of 8 to 10 spreading, regularly pinnate, slightly keeled leaves on short stalks. The leafbases form a slender green or yellowish green crownshaft with a grayish tinge. The spectacular and rather large, spreading inflorescences hold numerous long flowering branches that are thickly covered in dense, felt-like, pale pinkish hairs.