''Rhopalostylis'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of two species of palms native to the

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. 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.

Distribution

''Rhopalostylis baueri'' occurs on

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 the

Kermadec Islands The Kermadec Islands ( ; ) are a subtropical island arc in the South Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand's North Island, and a similar distance southwest of Tonga. The islands are part of New Zealand. They are in total area and uninhabit ...

northeast of New Zealand; the Kermadec Islands population, formerly separated as ''R. cheesemanii'', was included in '' R. baueri'' in 2005 after comparison revealed no significant differences. '' R. sapida'', known as the nikau palm, is the only palm native to mainland New Zealand, and is found in lowland forests in the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

, in coastal areas of the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

as far south as

Banks Peninsula Banks Peninsula () is a rocky peninsula on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand that was formed by two now-extinct volcanoes. It has an area of approximately . It includes two large deep-water harbours — Lyttelton Harbour a ...

, and on the

Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ; Moriori language, Moriori: , 'Misty Sun'; ) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island, administered as part of New Zealand, and consisting of about 10 islands within an approxima ...

at 44°S. ''R. sapida'' thus has the southernmost range of any palm genus.

Classification

Subfamily:

Arecoideae The Arecaceae () is a family of perennial, flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are colloquially c ...

; tribe:

Areceae Areceae is a palm tree tribe in the family Arecaceae. Subtribes: *Archontophoenicinae *Arecinae *Basseliniinae *Carpoxylinae *Clinospermatinae *Dypsidinae *Laccospadicinae *Oncospermatinae *Ptychospermatinae *Rhopalostylidinae *Verschaffeltiina ...

; subtribe:

Rhopalostylidinae Rhopalostylidinae is a botanical subtribe consisting of two genera of palms from Australia and New Zealand, ''Hedyscepe'' and ''Rhopalostylis''. These two genera were formerly included in Archontophoenicinae, to which they are morphologically sim ...

. ''Rhopalostylis'' is closely related to the

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 ...

genus ''

Hedyscepe ''Hedyscepe canterburyana'', the big mountain palm or umbrella palm, is the sole species in the genus ''Hedyscepe'' of the family Arecaceae. It is endemic to Lord Howe Island, Australia and is threatened by habitat loss. It is a solitary palm wit ...

''.

Species

References

*de Lange, P.J.; Gardner, R.O.; Crowcroft, G.M.; Stalker, F.; Cameron, E.K.; Braggins, J.E; Christian, M.L. 2005: Vascular flora of Norfolk Island: some additions and taxonomic notes. ''New Zealand Journal of Botany'' 43: 563-596. *
Kew palms checklist: ''Rhopalostylis''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3003837 Arecaceae genera Taxa named by Carl Georg Oscar Drude Taxa named by Hermann Wendland