Basselinia moorei Information
Identification:
Solitary, monoecious, unarmed, pleonanthic tree palm. Stem 6-10 m tall, 10-15 cm dbh, brown to grey, with slightly to moderately prominent leaf scars. Leaves 8-10, arcuately spreading, regularly pinnate. Leaf sheath caducous, forming a loose to rather prominent, somewhat swollen crownshaft, covered abaxially with a dense and short brown or grey tomentum, 0.5-0.7 m long; petiole concave adaxially, prominently winged by sheath extensions, 15-20 cm long; rachis slightly to strongly recurved, 1.6-1.9 m long; pinnae 25-35 on each side, regularly arranged, moderately stiff, directed forward and upward, light green; medifixed or longifixed ramenta scarce, restricted to the base of nerves abaxially; basal pinnae 38-40 x 2 cm, median pinnae 64-66 x 4 cm wide, apical pinnae ca. 40-42 x 2 cm. Inflorescences 1-3 simultaneously, infrafoliar, to 50 cm long and 60 cm wide; stiffly spreading, divaricate, covered with a velutinous, brownish-grey, hairy-scaly indument; peduncle 10-12 cm long, flattened; prophyll incompletely encircling peduncle at insertion, peduncular bract rostrate; rachis ca. 10 cm long, with 5-10 first-order branches; rachillae 20-36 cm long. Staminate flowers 5-6 mm long; 4.5-5 mm diam. at late bud; sepals 3.5-3.8 mm long, 2.5 mm wide, ovate-oblong, slightly acute towards the apex, distinct, imbricate, strongly cucullate at early bud stage; petals 5 mm long, 3 mm wide, elliptic, glabrous, connate up to mid-height, valvate at the apex; stamens 6-7, 3.5-4 mm long, filaments 2 mm long, 1 mm diam., connate at the base for 2 mm, cylindrical, apically connecting to the anther through a 1 mm long, laminar articulation; anthers 2 mm long, 1 mm wide, dorsifixed, bifid at the base and apex, latrorse; pistillode 2.5-3 mm long, 2 mm diam. at mid-height, ovoid, with no stigmatic branches differentiated. Pistillate flowers 4-5 mm long, 4 mm diam. in late bud, borne throughout the rachillae, supported with a short stalk; sepals 3.8-4 mm long, 3.5-3.8 mm wide, circular-oblong, only shortly connate at the base, distinct, imbricate; petals 3.8-4 mm long, 3.6-3.8 mm wide, distinct, imbricate but open at the apex; staminodes 3-6 at one side of the gynoecium, shortly connate at the base, 1.2 long, 1 mm wide at the base, acute at the apex; tooth-like; gynoecium syncarpous, 3.5-3.8 mm long, 3.5 mm diam., globose, 3-locular; stigmas 3, poorly differentiated, recurved, shortly papillate on the ventral side. Fruit globose, 13 mm diam., bright red at maturity, with lateral stigmatic remains.
General Information:
Only known from the upper slopes of Mont Panié, above 900 m elevation on the eastern side and above 1400 m elevation on the western side, almost reaching the summit (1628 m), in cloud forest on schistose rocks, dominated by Agathis montana de Laub (Araucariaceae). The species grows abundantly as a canopy-emergent component. It replaces Basselinia velutina, which grows at a lower elevation on Mont Panié. Basselinia moorei is the fourth endemic palm species described from Mont Panié (the others are B. favieri H. E Moore, Clinosperma macrocarpa (H. E. Moore) J.-C. Pintaud & W. J. Baker and Kentiopsis piersoniorum J.-C. Pintaud & Hodel), further emphasizing the significance of this mountain as a biodiversity and conservation hotspot (PINTAUD & al., 2001).
Distribution:
Native to
Work in progress
Distribution Information currently being revised!