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Ptychosperma elegans

Solitaire Palm

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Solitaire Palm, Alexander Palm

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE ne.Australia (NT and e.Queensland)

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Not naturalised; Land, lowlands, gardens

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Ornamental leaves

KEY FEATURES: Slender, solitary palm to 15m. TRUNK slender to 10cmØ, with prominent rings. FRONDS 6-11, spreading, to 2.5x1.5m(LxW); LEAFLETS 20-30 pairs, each to 75cm, tip blunt or jagged. FLOWERSTALK 3-4 branched, bushy, to 50cm. FLOWERS greenish-white, stamens usually 20-24. FRUIT wide-ovoid, to 15mmL, ripen bright red; SEED 5 grooves - 3 deep and 2 shallow.

Enlarged Image of 'Ptychosperma elegans'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
++	-	-	-	-		-		-

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-	-	-	-	-	-

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Ptychosperma elegans (R.Brown)
SYNONYMS: Seaforthia elegans R.Brown; Archontophoenix elegans (R.Brown) Rock

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); LILIOPSIDA (=Monocotyledones); ARECIDAE; Arecales; ARECACEAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: fieldspecimen, 1990s, Library adn Museum near door, ID Hodge.

References:
p.110 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.927 Hortus 3rd
p.953 Royal Hort. Soc. Index of Garden Plants
p.796 Tropica

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zD02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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