Archontophoenix alexandrae (F.Muell.) H.Wendl. & Drude, Arecaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 8 (revised 22 January 2008) (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Ptychosperma alexandrae F. v. Muell.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Alexandra palm, king palm, northern bungalow palm

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Trunk gray, up to ca. 30 m tall.  Leaves ca. 10, up to 2.5 m long, pinnae ca. 80 on each side, up to 80 cm long and 5 cm wide, whitish or ash-colored on lower surface, sheath green.  Inflorescences up to 70 cm long, with pendulous rachillae to the fourth order; staminate flowers white or cream, 5-6 mm long, stamens 9-16.  Fruit red, 1-1.4 cm long, 0.8-1.1 cm in diameter"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1362).

"This tall, single-trunked palm can be recognized by its lime green crownshaft; leaflets that are pointed at the tip and ashy below; and white inflorescences that branch 3 (-4) times, the long tips hanging straight down, bearing round, pea-sized, red fruits"  (Daehler & Baker, 2006; pp. 3-4).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "commonly cultivated and now naturalized in low elevation mesic valleys" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1362).

Propagation:  Seed, probably spread by birds (Daehler & Baker, 2006; p. 4).

Native range:  Queensland, Australia, but widely cultivated (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1362).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (p. 411)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1362)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Oppenheimer, Hank (2011) (p. 6) East Maui. "Spreading from cultivated specimens into low elevation mesic to wet, alien dominated forest". Voucher cited: Oppenheimer H30910 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Daehler, Curtis C./Baker, Raymond F. (2006) (p. 4) Voucher cited: K. Nagata 523 (HLA)
Japan (offshore islands) Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	introduced	Kato, Hidetoshi (2007)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 110)
Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna (Horne) Islands	Wallis (‘Uvea) Island	introduced cultivated	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2007) (pp. 13, 28)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 293) Ornamental.
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 15) Cultivated only

Additional information:
Report (PDF format) from US Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Haleakala Field Station, Hawaii "Plants of Hawaii".

Additional online information about Archontophoenix alexandrae is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Archontophoenix alexandrae as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Archontophoenix alexandrae may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp.

Daehler, Curtis C./Baker, Raymond F. 2006. New records of naturalized and naturalizing plants around Lyon Arboretum, Mānoa Valley, O‘ahu. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2004-2005. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 87:3-18.

Kato, Hidetoshi. 2007. Herbarium records of Makino Herbarium, Tokyo Metropolitan University. Personal communication.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Meyer, Jean-Yves. 2007. Rapport de mission sur l'Ile d'Uvea (Wallis & Futuna) du 6 au 17 Novembre 2007: Inventaire preliminaire de la flore vasculaire secondaire [unpublished report]. Délégation à la Recherche, Ministère de l'Education, l'Enseignement Supérieur et la Recherche, B.P. 20981 Papeete, Tahiti, Polynésie française. 39 pp.

Oppenheimer, Hank. 2011. New Hawaiian plant records for 2009. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2009-2010. Part II: Plants. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 110:5-10.

Smith, Albert C. 1979. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 1. 494 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Wu, Te-lin. 2001. Check List of Hong Kong Plants. Hong Kong Herbarium and the South China Institute of Botany. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Bulletin 1 (revised). 384 pp.