Licuala grandis H. Wendland, Arecaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate, Score: 6 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: ruffled fan palm

French: palmier-cuillère

Other: te purauki

Solomon Pijin: nokolo, nondoobu

Habit:  tree

Description:  "A slender palm...about 6 feet tall bears handsome, dark green, round, fine-pleated leaves, which are entire except for inch-long bifid lobes around the edge; the leaves measure about 3 feet across and have slender stems 3 feet long, spine-edged in the lower half" (Neal, 1965; p. 94).

"Trunk:  To 6 ft. in height, 3 in. diameter or less.  Petiole:  3 ft. long, slender, spines near base and halfway to leaf.  Leaf:  Palmate; 3 by 2 ft.; circular appearance but really more wide than long; not divided, unless split by wind, but notched at tips.  M. and R. Foster, in their book, Brazil, speak of the leaves as resembling knife-pleated skirts or corrugated roofs.  Segments:  Bright, dark, glossy green; split at ends; very pleated.  Flowerstalk:  Among leaves, same length as leaves.  Flowers:  1/3 in. long.  Fruit:  Size of pea; glossy crimson"  (McCurrach, 1960; p. 117).

Habitat/ecology:  Grows well in the understory.

Propagation:  Seed. "The small fleshy fruits (ca. 1 cm in diameter) might be dispersed over long distances by frugivorous birds" (Meyer, Lavergne & Hodel, 2008; p. 75).

Native range:  Vanuatu.

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island		McCormack, Gerald (2011) Cultivated?
Federated States of Micronesia Kosrae Island	Kosrae Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy (2010) (p. 6)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (pp. 396-397) Voucher cited: Moore, Koroiveibau & Parham 9365
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hiva Oa Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Ua Pou (Huapu, Uapou, Uapu) Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2008)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2000) (p. 94) "Potential invader".
French Polynesia Society Islands	Taha‘a Island	introduced invasive	Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe/Hodel, Donald R. (2008) (p. 76) Widely naturalized.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 13)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe/Hodel, Donald R. (2008) (p. 75) Locally naturalized in botanical garden.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawaiian Islands	cultivated	Neal, Marie C. (1965) (p. 94)
Kiribati Tungaru (Gilbert) Islands	Tarawa Atoll		Thaman, R. R. (1987) Cultivated? Presence not verified.
Marshall Islands Ratak Chain	Majuro (Mãjro) Atoll	introduced invasive cultivated	Vander Velde, Nancy (2003) (p. 32) Potential invasive; grows well even under other trees. f
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 111)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Anuta Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1971) (voucher ID: BISH 80634) Taxon name on voucher: Licuala grandis H. Wendland
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Anuta Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1971) (voucher ID: BISH 699241) Taxon name on voucher: Licuala grandis H. Wendland
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Ndeni (Santa Cruz) Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1971) (voucher ID: BISH 79377) Taxon name on voucher: Licuala grandis H. Wendland
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Ndeni (Santa Cruz) Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1971) (voucher ID: BISH 79378) Taxon name on voucher: Licuala grandis H. Wendland
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Ndeni (Santa Cruz) Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1971) (voucher ID: BISH 699240) Taxon name on voucher: Licuala grandis H. Wendland
Vanuatu New Hebrides Islands	Vanuatu (Republic of)	native	McCurrach, J. C. (1960)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 55) Cultivated only

Comments:  Isolated patches but potentially invasive in French Polynesia.

Additional information:
Additional online information about Licuala grandis is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

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

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

References:

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1971. Voucher specimen #BISH 79377 (Yen, D.E. 19824).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1971. Voucher specimen #BISH 79378 (Yen, D.E. 19797).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1971. Voucher specimen #BISH 80634 (Yen, D.E. 19243).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1971. Voucher specimen #BISH 699240 (Yen, D.E. 19797).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1971. Voucher specimen #BISH 699241 (Yen, D.E. 19243).

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.

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. 1997. Preliminary checklist of the flowering plants and ferns of the Society Islands. Ed. by David R. Stoddart. U. Cal. Berkeley.

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy. 2010. Checklist of the plants of Kosrae. Unpublished checklist. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 26 pp.

Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. 2008. Flora of the Marquesas Islands. National Tropical Botanical Garden and the Smithsonian Institution. Online database.

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

McCormack, Gerald. 2011. Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga.

McCurrach, J. C. 1960. Palms of the world. Harper, New York.

Meyer, Jean-Yves. 2000. Preliminary review of the invasive plants in the Pacific islands (SPREP Member Countries). In: Sherley, G. (tech. ed.). Invasive species in the Pacific: A technical review and draft regional strategy. South Pacific Regional Environment Programme, Samoa. 190 pp.

Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe/Hodel, Donald R. 2008. Time Bombs in Gardens: Invasive Ornamental Palms in Tropical Islands, with Emphasis on French Polynesia (Pacific Ocean) and the Mascarenes (Indian Ocean). Palms; Journal of the International Palm Society 52: 23-35. .

Neal, Marie C. 1965. In Gardens of Hawaii. Bernice P. Bishop Museum Special Publication 50, Bishop Museum Press. 924 pp.

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

Thaman, R. R. 1987. Plants of Kiribati: a listing and analysis of vernacular names. Atoll Res. Bull. 296:1-42.

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