''Pritchardia perlmanii'', the Waioli Valley pritchardia, is a species of

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae ** List of Arecaceae genera **Palm oil * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music ...

tree that 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 the island of

Kauai Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands. It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the 21st-largest island in the United States. Kauai lies 73 m ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It inhabits lowland mesic forests in the Waioli Valley at an elevation of . ''P. perlmanii'' reaches a height of and a trunk diameter of .

Etymology

The name of the plant honors two individuals; ''Pritchardia'' is dedicated to

William Thomas Pritchard William Thomas Pritchard (13 October 1829 – 1 November 1907) was a British consul and adventurer. Pritchard was born in Papeete, Tahiti, the son of George Pritchard and Eliza Aileen. He was educated in Britain before returning to join his fat ...

(1829–1907), a British official stationed in

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

in the 19th century (later the British consul in Fiji), an adventurer, and author of ''Polynesian Reminiscences'' in 1866. The specific epithet ''perlmanii'' honors Steven Perlman, a botanist with the

National Tropical Botanical Garden The National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) is a Hawaii-based not-for-profit institution dedicated to tropical plant research, conservation, and education. It operates a network of botanical gardens and preserves in Hawaii and Florida. History ...

who was first to notice the unique features of this species of palm.

References

perlmanii Trees of Hawaii Endemic flora of Hawaii Biota of Kauai Endangered plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{tree-stub