Ptychosperma elegans (R.Br.) Blume, Arecaceae

Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES

Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate, score: 2 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Seaforthia elegans R. Br.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Alexander palm, cabbage palm, solitaire palm

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Sex: Monoecious.  Trunk: To 20 ft in height, slender, up to 3-4 in. thick; very smooth and prominently ringed; surmounted by a rather short crownshaft; slightly enlarged at base.  Petiole:  Short.  Leaf:  Pinnate, to 6.5 feet long; recurved and arching, only 6 or 8 leaves on tree at one time; bases form crownshaft.  Leaflets:  2 feet long, 1-3 in. broad; about 20 pairs to each leaf; cut off and jagged at apex; bright-green, paler beneath.  Flowerstalk:  Below crownshaft; 20 in. long; very bushy and branched.  Flowers:  White; fragrant.  Fruit:  Oblong globular, 3/4 in. long; fleshy; bright red.  Seed:  Globose; with 3 deep furrows and 2 faint ones; albumen ruminate"  (McCurrach, 1960; pp. 194-195).

Habitat/ecology:  "A popular palm for tropical and subtropical regions, growing especially well on the coast" (Jones, 1995; p. 320).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Native to eastern Queensland, Australia, where it is prominent in coastal districts and it is also known from the Northern Territory" (Jones, 1995; p. 320).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Floreana Group	Floreana Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Volcán Sierra Negra, Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe/Hodel, Donald R. (2008) (p. 76) Locally naturalized.
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	introduced cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. (2000) (p. 16)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 112)

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)	Northern Territory	native	Jones, David L. (1995) (p. 320)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	native	Jones, David L. (1995) (p. 320)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced cultivated	Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe/Hodel, Donald R. (2008) (p. 76)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	introduced cultivated	Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe/Hodel, Donald R. (2008) (p. 76)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)

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

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

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

References:

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

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).

Jones, David L. 1995. Palms throughout the world. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington. 410 pp.

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

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

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. .

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.

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

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.