Difference between revisions of "Raphia farinifera"

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image:Post-5709-044841800_1335955557.jpg|Mt. Warning Caldera, Nth NSW, Australia. Photo by Pete, edric.
 
image:Post-5709-044841800_1335955557.jpg|Mt. Warning Caldera, Nth NSW, Australia. Photo by Pete, edric.
 
image:Post-5709-050688300_1335955486.jpg|Mt. Warning Caldera, Nth NSW, Australia. Photo by Pete, edric.
 
image:Post-5709-050688300_1335955486.jpg|Mt. Warning Caldera, Nth NSW, Australia. Photo by Pete, edric.
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image:Post-2039-004088500_1335857215.jpg|Democratic Republic of Congo. "I grew from seeds and planted in swampy ground (near the Congo-river)." Photo by Wolfgang Hecht, edric.
 
image:Post-2039-004088500_1335857215.jpg|Democratic Republic of Congo. "I grew from seeds and planted in swampy ground (near the Congo-river)." Photo by Wolfgang Hecht, edric.
 
image:Post-2039-056409200_1335857310.jpg|Democratic Republic of Congo. "I grew from seeds and planted in swampy ground (near the Congo-river)." Photo by Wolfgang Hecht, edric.
 
image:Post-2039-056409200_1335857310.jpg|Democratic Republic of Congo. "I grew from seeds and planted in swampy ground (near the Congo-river)." Photo by Wolfgang Hecht, edric.
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File:rfDSCN9371.jpg.7dc53505621bcff517ad838a819baca7.jpg|IPS Direstor Cindy Adair, visit the Satranala reserve, Madagascar.  Photo by Cindy Adair.
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image:Rf5150.jpg|Fruit with Scales. Photo-Kew, edric.
 
image:Rf5150.jpg|Fruit with Scales. Photo-Kew, edric.
 
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Revision as of 23:07, 22 November 2015


Raphia (rahf-EE-ah)
farinifera (fahr-ih-nih-FEHR-ah)
Raphia farinifera leavesz.jpg
Leaf Close-up.
Scientific Classification
Genus: Raphia (rahf-EE-ah)
Species:
farinifera (fahr-ih-nih-FEHR-ah)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
Africa
Africa.gif
Morphology
Habit: Solitary & clustering.
Leaf type: Palmate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
Madagascar raphia palm, Bamenda raphia, East African wine palm, raffia palm (En). Raphia, palmier à raffia, palmier de Mayotte (Fr). Mwale, muwala, rutoro (Sw).

Habitat and Distribution

Endemic to Mainland Africa; in Madagascar probably introduced. Angola, Benin, Burkina, Cameroon, Gambia, The, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Réunion, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Moist situations (swamps, stream banks) near human habitations; alt. 50-1000 m.

Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens. Hilo, Hawaii.

Description

Solitary palm, though clustering in mainland Africa. TRUNK to 10 m high, covered in persistent leaf sheaths. LEAVES about 12 in the crown, porrect, slightly spreading, giving the crown a "shuttle-cock" appear- ; ance, very long, to 20 m; leaf base sheathing, with ragged ligular edge; petiole rounded in section; sheath and petiole about 1.5 m long; rachis several meters long, reddish, distally keeled, proximally to 13 cm wide and decreasing to 1 cm, with scattered scales; leaflets up to 150 on each side of the rachis, inserted in 2 planes and thereby giving the whole leaf a feathery appearance, stiff, attenuate, the median 87-103 x 3.6-3.7 cm, the distal 16-36 x 0.4-1.7 cm, main veins 1, margins with small (1-3 mm long) yellow spines from base to apex of leaflet, midrib adaxially with similar spines to 4 mm, waxy, with many minute reddish scales/glands scattered over the abaxial surface, and sparse ramenta on the midrib. INFLORESCENCE pendulous from the axils of reduced leaves at the stem apex, massive, to 3 m long and 35 cm wide, branched to 2 orders; peduncle distally c. 5.5 x 4.5 cm in diam., glabrous; primary prophyll about 25 x 28 cm; peduncular bract about 18 cm long and 8 cm in diam., tubular for about 11 cm; rachis glabrous; second order prophylls about 9 cm long; first order branches with 13-32 rachillae packed very densely in almost one plane; rachillae 6-13 cm long, about 8 x 5 mm in diam., with dense flowers. STAMINATE FLOWERS with a tubular bract, 7-7.5 x 5-6 mm, broadly ovate, acute; prophyll about 6 mm long and 3 mm in diam.; calyx tubular, 4.5-5 mm high, the lobes < 0.2 mm high, slightly ciliolate; corolla with a tube 2-3 x 1.2-1.5 mm, the lobes 6-6.6 x 2.1-2.5 mm, narrowly ovate and acute, not thickened; stamens 6, inserted at the mouth of the tube, filaments slightly connate, 2-2.8 x 0.5-0.8 mm, anthers 3.2-3.6 x 1.2-1.3 mm, basifixed, locules slightly divergent and sagittate at the base; pistillode not seen. PISTILLATE FLOWERS with a tubular bract about 10 x 9 mm, narrow at the base, widening in the tubular part and then narrowing to an acute apex; prophyll 7.5-8 mm, 2-keeled; bracteole 2.5-3.2 mm; calyx tubular and slightly urceolate, split, 5-6.5 mm high with a truncate apex; corolla tubular for 1-1.3 mm, the lobes narrowly triangular and acute, 2.7-3 x 1.5-1.8 mm; staminodes not seen; ovary about 5.5 x 2.7 mm, covered in fimbriate scales. FRUIT ovoid, 5-6 x 4-4.5 cm with a conical base and a rounded apex with a beak to 5 mm, covered in about 12 rows of reflexed scales, these with a median vertical groove, the largest scales about 16 x 16 mm, chestnut-brown in colour. SEED ovoid, about 3.5 x 3.2 cm; endosperm densely ruminate, the ruminations almost reaching the centre of the seed. (J. Dransfield and H. Beentje. 1995)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.

Culture

Comments and Curiosities



External Links

References

Special thanks to Geoff Stein, (Palmbob) for his hundreds of photos.

Special thanks to Palmweb.org, Dr. John Dransfield, Dr. Bill Baker & team, for their volumes of information and photos.

Glossary of Palm Terms; Based on the glossary in Dransfield, J., N.W. Uhl, C.B. Asmussen-Lange, W.J. Baker, M.M. Harley & C.E. Lewis. 2008. Genera Palmarum - Evolution and Classification of the Palms. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. All images copyright of the artists and photographers (see images for credits).


Many Special Thanks to Ed Vaile for his long hours of tireless editing and numerous contributions.

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