Arenga pinnata (Wurmb) Merr., Arecaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 7 (Go to the risk assessment).

Other Latin names:  Arenga saccharifera Labill. ex DC.; Saguerus pinnatus Wurmb

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: sha tang ye zi

English: areng palm, black-fiber palm, gomuti palm, sugar palm

French: palmier à sucre

Spanish: barú, bary, palma de azúcar

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Trunk to more than 10 m high; leaves numerous, large, to nearly 10 m long; pinnae to 11 on each side, linear, clustered, borne in several planes, dark green above, whitish beneath, auricled at base; sheaths coarsely fibrous with very stout, black spines like knitting needles; inflorescences solitary, usually unisexual, staminate flowers deep red to purple-black, with numerous bright stamens; pistillate flowers green; fruit to 6 cm long; seeds black"  (Smith, 1979; p. 407).

"The sugar palm is a large, single-trunked palm.  The leaves are large (to 9 m), dark-green above, silvery below, with the long leaflets ragged at the tips.  The trunk is covered by loose, brown-black fibrous material mixed with long, stiff, spinelike fibers.  At maturity this palm flowers from the top down, eventually dying.  The fruits are dark red, about 2.5 cm in diameter, and are extremely irritating to the skin, containing calcium oxalate crystals"  (Daehler & Baker, 2006; p. 5).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i (O‘ahu), naturalized in Lyon Arboretum where plants are probably in their third generation, and "they form dense stands locally"  (Daehler & Baker, 2006; p. 5).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  India, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 80)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced cultivated	Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. (2010) (p. 35)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (p. 407)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced cultivated	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 137)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 80)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Parker, James L./Parsons, Bobby (2012) (p. 66) Voucher cited: J. Parker & R. Parsons BIED115 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Daehler, Curtis C./Baker, Raymond F. (2006) (p. 5) Vouchers cited: C. Daehler 1318 (HAW), F.B. Essig 680725 (HLA)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 80)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	possibly introduced invasive cultivated	Merrill, Elmer D. (1925) (pp. 159-160) Planted here and there around towns and abundant in some forested areas but never at any great distance from settled areas; generally planted. It has all the appearance of an introduced palm that has become naturalized.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (pp. 293-294) Ornamental.
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 15) Cultivated only
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Additional information:
Information from the ASEAN Tropical Plant Database.

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

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

Taxonomic information about Arenga pinnata 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.

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1987. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian monocotyledonae. Micronesica 20:1-126.

Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. 2010. Checklist of the vascular plants of Pohnpei with local names and uses. Allertonia, in press. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 146 pp.

Merrill, Elmer D. 1925. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 1 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 463 pp.

Parker, James L./Parsons, Bobby. 2012. New plant records from the Big Island for 2010-2011. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2011. Part II: Plants. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 113:65-74.

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

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. 2000. Survey of invasive or potentially invasive cultivated plants in Hawai‘i. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers No. 65. 35 pp.

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

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

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.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).