''Hedyscepe canterburyana'', the big mountain palm or umbrella palm, is the sole species in the genus ''Hedyscepe'' of 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 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 ...

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland Port ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and 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 ...

. It is a solitary palm with a distinct crownshaft, and bears unisexual

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s of both sexes. With the ''

Rhopalostylis ''Rhopalostylis'' is a genus of two species of arecaceae, palms native to the Oceania, South Pacific. Both are smooth-trunked, with regular ringed scars from fallen leaves. The leaves are 3–5 m in length, and the leaf bases encircle the trunk. ...

'' palms of

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

it forms the botanic subtribe Rhopalostylidinae. If differs from ''Rhopalostylis'' in minor floral details including having more than six stamens, and in being protandrous rather than

protogynous Sequential hermaphroditism (called dichogamy in botany) is one of the two types of hermaphroditism, the other type being simultaneous hermaphroditism. It occurs when the organism's sex changes at some point in its life. A sequential hermaphrodit ...

. The two genera were formerly included in

Archontophoenicinae Archontophoenicinae is a botanical subtribe consisting of several genera of palms, namely '' Archontophoenix'' from Queensland and New South Wales and '' Actinokentia'', '' Chambeyronia'' and '' Kentiopsis'' from New Caledonia. NCBI Taxonomy Bro ...

until a recent revision (Dransfield, Uhl et al., 2005). In some (but not all) molecular phylogenetic analyses, ''Hedyscepe'' was found to be nested in the

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

endemic ''Basselinia''.

Description

''Hedyscepe canterburyana'' is a slow-growing palm up to tall which grows on mountain forests, cliffs, and exposed ridges overlooking the sea, at about of altitude. It has a slender, close-ringed trunk, a prominent silvery crownshaft and a compact crown of dense, dark green, stiffly arching recurved fronds somewhat reminiscent of those of ''

Howea belmoreana ''Howea belmoreana'', the curly palm, kentia palm, or Belmore sentry palm, is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae, endemic to Lord Howe Island, Australia. It and ''Howea forsteriana'' probably evolved from a common ancestor thro ...

''. The egg-shaped

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

are deep red when ripe, and about 4 cm long. They appear in densely bunched fruiting spikes from below the crownshaft. Each fruit contains a single seed.

Cultivation

Lord Howe Island has a subtropical climate. Summers are mild to warm with regular rain, and winters are wetter and somewhat cooler. Average maximum temperatures range between in winter and in the summer. In winter, average minimum temperatures range between , and in summer. Humidity averages in the 60 to 70 per cent range all year round.Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology
Climate of Lord Howe Island
. Accessed 24 July 2008. With its arching fronds, ''H. canterburyana'' is a very attractive palm which is becoming increasingly popular among garden enthusiasts in cool subtropical and warm temperate climates. It is difficult to grow in the tropics or where nights are never cool, but does well in climates like

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, and can tolerate the occasional light frost once established. It needs a rich organic soil, and shelter from sun for at least the first five years. It also does well in containers or as indoor plants where light is good. Single plants are capable of producing fertile

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

. Fresh seed is slow and erratic in germination, with seedlings appearing from five to 18 months after they are sown. Fruit take up to four years to ripen and it is not easy to tell when the seeds are ripe.

Sources

*Dransfield, John, Natalie W Uhl, Conny B Asmussen, William J Baker, Madeline M Harley, and Carl E Lewis 2005. 'A new phylogenetic classification of the palm family, Arecaceae'. ''Kew Bulletin'', Vol. 60 (2005). * Jones, David L. 1995. ''Palms Throughout the World''. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. * Jones, David L. 1996. ''Palms in Australia''. Reed Books, Melbourne. * Krempin, Jack 1990. ''Palms & Cycads Around The World''. Herron Books, Fortitude Valley, Queensland. *Uhl, Natalie W. and Dransfield, John 1987. ''Genera Palmarum - A classification of palms based on the work of Harold E. Moore''. Allen Press, Lawrence, Kansas. / .

Notes

External links

*
PACSOA
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q2706347, from2=Q15501184 Rhopalostylidinae Palms of Australia Vulnerable flora of Australia Endemic flora of Lord Howe Island Monotypic Arecaceae genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Carl Georg Oscar Drude