Friday 17 May
Palm (Roscheria melanochaetes)
NEARTHREATENED
Palm fact file
- Description
- Biology
- Range
- Habitat
- Status
- Threats
- Conservation
- Find out more
- Glossary
- References
- Print factsheet
Palm description
| Kingdom | Plantae |
| Phylum | Tracheophyta |
| Class | Liliopsida |
| Order | Arecales |
| Family | Palmae |
| Genus | Roscheria (1) |
This solitary palm tree is the smallest of the Seychelles palms (2). The slender stem may grow up to 8 metres high and is ringed with black spines near to the growing shoot (3). Young leaves are an arresting coral-red colour; they reach up to 2.5 metres long and are feather-like at maturity with leaflets on either side of the midrib (2). Both male and female flowers are found on the same tree; they are small and yellow, borne on solitary, metre-long inflorescences (2). Rounded fruits that may be up to 6 cm long develop; these ripen to a deep red colour at maturity (2).
- Size
- Height: up to 8 m (2)
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Related species
Palm biology
The species name of melanochaetes refers to the black spines covering the trunk of this palm; the spines are believed to have evolved as a defence against giant tortoises, the only natural large herbivores in the islands. R. melanochaetes normally grows at high altitudes, where tortoises rarely ventured and consequently this species has fewer spines than any other endemic palm (except for the giant coco-de-mer, Lodoicea maldivica) (4).
TopPalm range
Endemic to the Seychelles, this palm is only known from the islands of Mahé, Silhouette and Praslin within the archipelago (3).
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Species with a similar range
Palm habitat
Found in moist forests, on steep hillsides (1), seldom below 500 metres above sea level (2).
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Species found in a similar habitat
Palm status
Classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List (1).
Palm threats
This small palm species is under threat from habitat destruction in the form of infrastructure development, it is also at risk from the introduction of invasive species (1).
TopPalm conservation
Much of the range of this species is within the Morne Seychellois National Park on the island of Mahé; the Silhouette population is the subject of conservation work by the Silhouette Conservation Project of the Nature Protection Trust of Seychelles (4) (5).
TopAuthentication
Authenticated (6/5/03) by Justin Gerlach. Scientific Co-ordinator, The Nature Protection Trust of Seychelles.
http://islandbiodiversity.com
Glossary
- Endemic
- A species or taxonomic group that is only found in one particular country or geographic area.
- Inflorescences
- The reproductive shoots of the plant, which bear flowers.
- Leaflets
- The individual 'leaf-like' parts of a compound leaf.
References
- IUCN Red List (February, 2003)
http://www.iucnredlist.org - Wise, R. (1998) A Fragile Eden. Princeton University Press, New Jersey.
- Robertson, S.A. (1989) Flowering Plants of the Seychelles. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- Gerlach, J. (2002) Pers. comm.
- Nature Protection Trust of Seychelles (May, 2003)
http://islandbiodiversity.com
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Image credit
Roscheria melanochaetes
© John Dransfield / Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Richmond
Surrey
TW9 3AB
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 208 332 5000
Fax: +44 (0) 208 332 5197
info@kew.org
http://www.rbgkew.org.uk
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