Howea forsteriana (C. Moore & F. Mueller) Beccari, Arecaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate, score: 3 (Go to the risk assessment).

Other Latin names:  Denea forsteriana (F. Muell. ex H. Wendl.) O. F. Cook; Kentia forsteriana F. Muell. ex H. Wendl.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Forster sentry palm, kentia palm, paradise palm, sentry palm, thatch-leaf palm

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Slender tree to 20 m high. Leaves 3-4 (-5) m long; petiole 100-167 cm long; pinnae 30-60 cm long, borne horizontally, drooping; central and lower leaves horizontal or drooping from crown and upper leaves ± erect. Inflorescence of 3-5 (-8) similar spikes, c. 1 m long, all enclosed at base by a common prophyll, pendulous; peduncle flattened, 3-5 cm long; spikes 0.7-1.25 m long, each with its own peduncular bract. Male flower creamy brown; stamens 65-100. Fruit ellipsoidal, gradually tapered towards apex, 3-5 cm long, bright or dull red"  (Flora of Australia online).

Habitat/ecology:  On Lord Howe Island (native), "on coralline and basalt soils, especially on flat calcarenite sites, from sea-level to about 300 m, often in pure stands"  (Flora of Australia online).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Lord Howe Island  (Flora of Australia online).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Lord Howe Island	Lord Howe Island	native	Australian Biological Resources Study (2011) Voucher cited: J.L. Boorman (NSW)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 84)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced cultivated	Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. (2010) (p. 36)
Marshall Islands Ratak Chain	Majuro (Mãjro) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Vander Velde, Nancy (2003) (p. 31)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 112)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	native	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 82)

Additional information:
Fact sheet from the University of Florida Extension Service (PDF format).

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

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

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

References:

Australian Biological Resources Study. 2011. Flora of Australia Online. Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.

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

Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. 1988. Flora of the Solomon Islands. Research Bulletin No. 7. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Honiara. 203 pp.

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.

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

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

Vander Velde, Nancy. 2003. The vascular plants of Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Smithsonian Institution, Atoll Research Bulletin No. 503:1-141.