''Bentinckia condapanna'', the hill areca nut, is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the family

Arecaceae The Arecaceae () is a family (biology), family of perennial plant, perennial, flowering plants in the Monocotyledon, monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbing palm, climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly k ...

. It is found only in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

. This palm is mainly found in the evergreen forests of Western Ghats of India.

Description

It is a

monoecious Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system comparable with gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy, and contras ...

tree. It grows generally on the steep rocky slopes and cliffs in the rainforests of the southern Western Ghats. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to this region. It is found mainly at an altitude of 1000–1800 msl. This palm grows up to 10m tall with the girth of about 15 cm. Flowers and nuts can be seen throughout the year. Although it is restricted to certain isolated regions, it is common in few places within its distributional range. Its

heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

is eaten by the local tribal people.

References

External links

*http://www.biotik.org/india/species/b/bentcond/bentcond_en.html *http://www.lundkvistpalmgarden.com/Bentinckia.html condapanna Flora of Kerala Flora of Tamil Nadu Vulnerable plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Endemic flora of the Western Ghats {{Areceae-stub