Hydriastele

Hydriastele is a diverse and widespread genus of flowering plant in the palm family found throughout Australia and New Zealand, Melanesia, Polynesia, and Southeast Asia. It consisted of just nine species until 2004, when molecular research, supported by morphologic similarities, led taxonomists to include the members of the Gulubia, Gronophyllum, and Siphokentia genera. 48 species are now recognized, of which 38 are new combinations, two are new names and one is a new species.[2] It is named in Greek, combining "hydriad", a water nymph in mythology, and "column".[3]

Hydriastele
Hydriastele pinangoides
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Arecales
Family:	Arecaceae
Subfamily:	Arecoideae
Tribe:	Areceae
Genus:	Hydriastele H. Wendl. & Drude[1]
Species
Hydriastele affinis Hydriastele aprica Hydriastele beccariana Hydriastele beguinii Hydriastele boumae Hydriastele brassii Hydriastele cariosa Hydriastele carrii Hydriastele chaunostachys Hydriastele costata Hydriastele cyclopensis Hydriastele cylindrocarpa Hydriastele dransfieldii Hydriastele flabellata Hydriastele geelvinkiana Hydriastele gibbsiana Hydriastele gracilis Hydriastele hombronii Hydriastele kasesa Hydriastele kjellbergii Hydriastele ledermanniana Hydriastele lepidota Hydriastele longispatha Hydriastele lurida Hydriastele macrospadix Hydriastele manusii Hydriastele mayrii Hydriastele micrantha Hydriastele microcarpa Hydriastele microspadix Hydriastele moluccana Hydriastele montana Hydriastele nannostachys Hydriastele oxypetala Hydriastele palauensis Hydriastele pinangoides Hydriastele pleurocarpa Hydriastele procera Hydriastele ramsayi Hydriastele rheophytica Hydriastele rhopalocarpa Hydriastele rostrata Hydriastele sarasinorum Hydriastele selebica Hydriastele valida Hydriastele variabilis Hydriastele vitiensis Hydriastele wendlandiana

Description

The palms now classified in this genus have uniting traits but are nonetheless diverse. Pleonanthy, monoecy, crownshafts, peduncular bracts, and the lack of armament characterize all members. The trunks may be solitary or suckering and may be diminutive to robust, spanning a range of heights. The leaves are pinnate and widely varied. The inflorescences are branched to three orders with both male and female flowers, some of which are beetle-pollinated.[4] The fruit may be ellipsoidal or spherical and colored yellow, orange, red, purple, or black when ripe, each with a single seed.

Distribution and habitat

Their known natural range includes a number of tropical settings in Sulawesi, the Maluku Islands, New Guinea, Australia, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomon Islands, New Hebrides, Fiji, and Palau. Very often they are found in rain forests of the montane and low lying varieties or upon ultrabasic rock, limestone ridges and serpentine faces.

Cultivation and uses

Several of these palms are cultivated and typically require conditions resembling those of their range. The trunks of some species are used as wall and floorboard components in house construction or split and fashioned into spears.[4]

References

1. H.A. Wendland & Drude, Linnaea 39;180, 208. 1875. Type:H. wendlandiana
2. Baker, W.J. "A synopsis of the genus Hydriastele (Arecaceae)". Archived from the original on 2011-05-17. Retrieved 2008-03-24.
3. Riffle, Robert L. and Craft, Paul (2003) An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms. Portland: Timber Press. ISBN 0-88192-558-6 / ISBN 978-0-88192-558-6
4. Uhl, Natalie W. and Dransfield, John (1987) Genera Palmarum - A classification of palms based on the work of Harold E. Moore. Lawrence, Kansas: Allen Press. ISBN 0-935868-30-5 / ISBN 978-0-935868-30-2

External links

• Hydriastele on NPGS/GRIN
• Images at Fairchild
• GBIF portal
• Fairchild Guide to Palms: Hydriastele
• PACSOA