Dypsis trapezoidea

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Dypsis (DIP-sis)
trapezoidea
(trah-pihz-oh-ee-DEH-ah)
DtIMG 1052.jpg
Madagascar. Photo by Jeff Searle, Searle Brothers Nursery, FL.
Scientific Classification
Genus: Dypsis (DIP-sis)
Species:
trapezoidea
(trah-pihz-oh-ee-DEH-ah)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
Africa
Africa.gif
Morphology
Habit: Solitary
Leaf type: Pinnate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
None.

Habitat and Distribution

Madagascar. Known only from Vatovavy, Ifanadiana. Steep rocky slope at foot of cliff,
Madagascar. Photo by Bill
primary lowland forest. (J. Dransfield and H. Beentje. 1995)/Palmweb.

Description

Solitary slender palm of the forest undergrowth. STEM to 1.2 m tall, about 8-12 mm in diam. at the base, about 4-7 mm in diam. distally, often conspicuously stilt-rooted at the base, dark grey brown and vertically cracked at the base, dull green distally, internodes 8-18 mm with scattered dark brown scales, nodal scars about 1-2 mm wide. LEAVES about 7 in the crown; sheaths 5-6.5 cm long, about 1-1.2 cm in diam., dull green with scattered evenly spaced thin brown scales, auricles absent; petiole 9-19 cm long, about 2 mm wide, densely silvery scaly, especially when newly emerged; rachis 21-36 cm, scaly as the petiole; leaflets about 7-10 on each side of the rachis, mostly arranged in pairs, somewhat trapezoid in outline, with conspicuous praemorse tips, basal leaflets with proximal margin 5.5-6 cm, distal margin 7-9 cm and praemorse margin 0.8-2 cm; mid-leaf leaflets with proximal margin 6.5-8 cm, distal margin 7-11 cm and praemorse margin 2-3 cm; apical leaflet pair much shorter than the rest with proximal margin 3.5-4 cm, distal margin 2.5-3 cm and praemorse margin 2-3.5 cm; leaflets drying pale green, adaxially with scattered brown punctiform scales, abaxially covered with dense white punctiform scales, abaxially also with a band of grey indumentum along the proximal and distal margins. INFLORESCENCE interfoliar, much shorter than the leaves, branched to 1 order; peduncle 7-12.5 cm, about 2 mm wide, densely covered with brown scales; prophyll 9-10 x 0.4-0.6 cm, sparsely scaly; peduncular bract exceeding the prophyll by 4-5 cm; rachis 5-8 cm, densely scaly as the peduncle; rachillae 5-6 (-8), equalling or shorter than the rachis, diverging at right angles, at maturity about 3.5-5.5 cm, much shorter when newly emerged, about 1.5 mm in diam., sparsely papillose and scaly, bearing triads about 1-4 mm distant, rachilla bracts round-ed-triangular, about 1 mm high. STAMINATE FLOWER buds (still immature) rounded, about 1.2 mm in diam.; sepals rounded, imbricate, irregularly keeled, about 0.8 x 0.8 mm, margins sparsely scaly; petals triangular, 0.9 x 0.7 mm; stamens 6, immature anthers 0.5 x 0.2 mm; pistillode columnar. PISTILLATE FLOWERS, only very young buds known. Mature FRUIT cherry-red, fusiform, 18 x 6 mm. SEED about 15x 4 mm, endosperm homogeneous. (J. Dransfield and H. Beentje. 1995)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.

Because of the praemorse leaflets this species appears very similar to D. thiryana. It can be distinguished by the consistently solitary habit, the sparse evenly distributed scales on the sheaths (rather than thick patchy scales), the much longer petioles, the wider, almost trapezoid leaflets and the more numerous but much shorter rachillae that are shorter than the inflorescence rachis (rather than being few, and much longer than the rachis). The mature fruit is also more or less twice the size of that of D. thiryana. (J. Dransfield and H. Beentje. 1995)/Palmweb.

Culture

Comments and Curiosities

A beautiful species known at present only from the isolated hill, Vatovavy, southwest of Mananjary. First collected by Bosser, we had initially included it within the variation of D. thiryana, but newly collected specimens show abundant differences between the two. This would be a beautiful ornamental. The species name refers to the leaflets that are almost trapezoid in outline. (J. Dransfield and H. Beentje. 1995)/Palmweb.

Conservation: Critical. Single-site locality; Vatovavy, southwest of Mananjary. (J. Dransfield and H. Beentje. 1995)/Palmweb.



External Links

References

Phonetic spelling of Latin names by edric.

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).

Dransfield, J. & Beentje, H. 1995. The Palms of Madagascar. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and The International Palm Society.


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

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