Forester's Kentia
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Forstersche Kentia ( Howea forsteriana ) |
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| Howea forsteriana | ||||||||||||
| ( F.Muell. ) Becc. |
The forester's Kentia ( Howea forsteriana ), it is almost always simply called the Kentia palm , is a species of palm endemic to the Australian Lord Howe Island .
features
The trunk of fully grown specimens can reach heights of 15 to 18 m, but in culture they usually only reach half. The trunk diameter is 15 cm, with the base being swollen. The trunk is gray to light brown and densely covered with ring-shaped leaf scars.
The leaf canopy of adult palm trees is 6 m wide and 3.6 to 4.5 m high. It extends a little down the trunk, but is not completely round. The leaves are 2.4 to 2.6 m long, the petiole is 1.2 to 1.5 m long. The rachis is curved. The leaflets are 60 to 90 cm long, dark green, narrowly lanceolate, limp and drooping. At the base of the leaf there are many brown, interwoven leaf fibers that only fall off together with the leaf.
The leaf epidermis is somewhat thickened on the outside, and also somewhat papillary on the underside in the intercostal areas . The secondary cells of the stomata have thickened walls, the middle part of the cell lumen is narrowed. A palisade parenchyma is slightly differentiated. There are plenty of fibers, these are connected to the adaxial, rather small, hypodermic cells.
The fruits are around 5 cm long, ellipsoidal and orange or red when ripe.
Distribution and ecology
H. forsteriana is endemic to Lord Howe Island, Australia. Here it comes mainly from sand-lime stone, which dominates the lowlands, in contrast to its sister species, Howea belmoreana , which occurs more frequently at higher altitudes.
H. forsteriana is proterandric , the main male flower is around two weeks before the female. However, if the palm trees grow on volcanic and not calcareous subsoil, flowering takes place at the same time. It blooms about six weeks before H. belmoreana . The most important pollination mechanism is the wind .
Systematics
Howea forsteriana was first described as Kentia forsteriana by Ferdinand von Mueller in 1870 . In 1877 the species was transferred to the Howea genus by Odoardo Beccari .
The specific epithet forsteriana refers to the Australian politician William Forster .
The two sister species H. belmoreana and H. forsteriana only separated from each other after the creation of Lord Howe Island. The two species are reproductively isolated from each other. They are considered an example of sympatric speciation .
use
Howea forsteriana is a common ornamental plant.
It needs moderate but regular moisture. It can be grown outdoors in USDA Climate Zones 10 and 11. Older specimens tolerate light frost.
H. forsteriana is one of the most common indoor palms and has been used as interior decoration for over 100 years. It can tolerate both poor lighting and neglect.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f Robert Lee Riffle, Paul Craft: An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms , 4th edition, Timber Press, Portland 2007, ISBN 978-0-88192-558-6 , p. 350.
- ^ P. Barry Tomlinson, James W. Horn, Jack B. Fisher: The Anatomy of Palms - Arecaceae - Palmae . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2011, p. 232. ISBN 978-0-19-955892-6
- ↑ a b c Vincent Savolainen, Marie-Charlotte Anstett, Christian Lexer, Ian Hutton, James J. Clarkson, Maria V. Norup, Martyn P. Powell, David Springate, Nicolas Salamin, William J. Baker: Sympatric speciation in palms on an oceanic island . Science, 2006, Volume 441, pp. 210-213. doi : 10.1038 / nature04566 ; (PDF, 291 kB) ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Howea forsteriana in the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families , accessed June 6, 2015.
Web links
- Howea forsteriana in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2006. Posted by: Johnson, 1998. Retrieved on 11 May, 2006.