''Dypsis onilahensis'' is a species of palm tree 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 endemic to

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

as is reflected in the species name (onilahensis) referring to the

Onilahy River Onilahy is a river in Atsimo-Andrefana and Anosy ( Toliara Province), southern Madagascar. It flows down from the hills near Betroka to the Mozambique Channel. It empties at St. Augustin (), and into the Bay of Saint-Augustin. Two species of cic ...

, south of

Toliara Toliara (also known as ''Toliary'', ; formerly ''Tuléar'') is a city in southern Madagascar. It is the capital of the Atsimo-Andrefana region, located 936 km southwest of the national capital Antananarivo. The current spelling of the name ...

. 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 ...

Description

''Dypsis onilahensis'' is a

pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and ...

leaved, clustering palm typically growing in clusters of 3 - 10 trees with adult trees in ideal conditions growing to 10 – 20 m high in height with stems of around 15 cm in diameter. Stems are typically grey at the base and dark green towards the crown with ringed bands and surrounding the circumference of the stem. Leaves grow up to 2 m in length with up to 70 pinnae (leaflets) of 30 cm or more and arch pendulously downwards giving the palm a graceful weeping appearance.

Habitat

''Dypsis onilahensis'' is native to North West and West Madagascar as well as South-Central Madagascar. In the northern part of its range it may be found growing in riverine forest at between 50 – 300 m altitude and between 750m - 2400 m in riverine or evergreen forest remnants in the central mountains and southern parts of its range.

Conservation

It is classed as vulnerable in the wild. Although its potential native range is large the habitat is prone to destruction by fire. Numbers are estimated at less than a thousand. A population in the

Isalo National Park Isalo National Park is a National Park in the Ihorombe Region of Madagascar, in the southwestern corner of the Province of Fianarantsoa. The closest town is Ranohira, and the closest cities are Toliara and Ihosy. It is a sandstone landscape that ...

is well-protected, but numbers less than a few hundred individuals. Outside of Madagascar D. onilahensis is fairly common in cultivation in sub-tropical and warm temperate climates including South Africa, California, southern Florida and Australia.

References

* Dransfield, J. & Beentje, H. 1995. The Palms of Madagascar. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and The International Palm Society. onilahensis Endemic flora of Madagascar Vulnerable plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Henri Lucien Jumelle Taxa named by Joseph Marie Henry Alfred Perrier de la Bâthie {{Areceae-stub