Characteristics
A medium sized slender palm. It grows about 12 m tall and is 9-15 cm across. It has a swollen base. The trunk is light grey. It has a densely scaly crown-shaft. This is 1 m long. The leaves spread out. They are 3.3 m long. The leaflets are narrow, light green, stiff and papery. They are 60 cm long. They are bent downwards at 45° to the stalk. They are regularly and closely spaced. They fruit change from yellow to orange then red during ripening. The fruit are round or oval and covered with a blue-green bloom when fresh.
| Life form |
perennial
|
| Growth form |
tree
|
| Growth support |
free-standing
|
| Foliage retention |
deciduous
|
| Sexuality |
-
|
| Pollination |
-
|
| Spread |
-
|
| Mature width (meter) |
0.09 - 0.15
|
| Mature height (meter) |
12.0
|
| Root system |
-
|
| Rooting depth (meter) |
-
|
| Root diameter (meter) |
-
|
| Flower color |
-
|
| Blooming months |
-
|
| Fruit color |
|
| Fruiting months |
-
|
| Nitrogen fixer |
-
|
| Photosynthetic pathway |
-
|
Environment
It is a tropical plant. It is abundant in dense forest in the Solomon Islands. It grows on limestone soils. It needs shade protection while young. In Cairns Botanical Gardens.
| Light |
-
|
| Soil humidity |
-
|
| Soil texture |
-
|
| Soil acidity |
-
|
| Soil nutriment |
-
|
| Hardiness (USDA) |
-
|
Usage
The fruit can be used as a betel nut substitute during times of betel nut scarcity.
| Uses |
-
|
| Edible
|
fruits
|
| Therapeutic use
|
-
|
| Human toxicity |
-
|
| Animal toxicity |
-
|
Cultivation
Plants can be grown from seeds.
| Mode |
seedlings
|
| Germination duration (days) |
-
|
| Germination temperacture (C°) |
-
|
| Germination luminosity |
-
|
| Germination treatment |
-
|
| Minimum temperature (C°) |
-
|
| Optimum temperature (C°) |
-
|
| Size |
-
|
| Vigor |
-
|
| Productivity |
-
|
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