Dypsis nodifera (Dypsis nodifera)

Description

Solitary (but sometimes subcolonial) palm. STEM 2-10 m tall, 1.2-6 cm in diam., 1-3 cm diam. near the apex, sometimes procumbent with only the distal part erect; stilt roots sometimes present; internodes 3.5-10 cm long, dull grey to distally red-brown; wood hard; crownshaft pale green with reddish flecks, 25-35 cm long. LEAVES 6-12 in the crown (to 17 and 3-ranked according to Dorr), erect to porrect, slightly arching; sheath 12-30 cm long, 1.5-1.6 cm across, closed, pale green or grey-green, sometimes tinged with pink, with scattered (distally denser) red-purple scales, without obvious ligules or (more often) with dark triangular auricles 0.5-5 cm high; petiole absent or up to 28 cm long, proximally 5-12 x 3-6 mm across, distally 3.5-10 x 2.5-4 mm across, yellow-green, adaxially channelled or flat, less often slightly convex, densely scaly; rachis 24-75 cm long, in mid-leaf 3-5 x 2-3.5 mm, densely scaly on both surfaces but adaxially glabrescent; leaflets (12-) 23-59 on each side of the rachis, in groups of 2-6, the groups at intervals of 5-15 cm, the leaflets within the groups 0.2-0.8 cm apart, twisted and fanned within the groups with their apices pendulous, within the groups the leaflets increasing in size from proximal to distal, often with swellings 2-4 mm across at the insertion point on the rachis, the distal often reflexed towards the leaf base, the proximal 14-35 x 0.1-1.8 cm, the median 12-37 x 1.2-4.5 cm, the distal 6.5-20.5 x 0.4-3.5 cm, proximal and median narrowly ovate, long-acumi-nate, dark green, with 1-7 main veins and minute scattered reddish scales, larger scales on the margins and occasionally some medium-sized (3-4 mm) ramenta in the proximal part, distal pair joined at the base for 0.3-3.3 cm, with 1-5 main veins and dentate narrow apices. INFLORESCENCE interfoliar to infrafoliar, 20-90 cm long, branched to 3 orders, less often to 2 or 4 orders, porrect to arching with pendulous rachillae, protandrous; peduncle (5 -) 13-32 cm long, proximally 10-15 x 5-8 mm across, distally 5-9 x 4-6 mm, densely scaly; prophyll 7-33 cm long, 0.9-3 cm wide, borne at 2-6 cm above the base of the peduncle, glabrous, opening near the apex only; peduncular bract inserted at 4-11 cm from the base of the peduncle, soon deciduous, 12-26 cm long, opening over its entire length except for the 0.5- cm long beak, adaxially rich red-brown, abaxially pale brown with some scattered scales; non-tubular peduncular bract inserted at 12-18 cm from the base of the peduncle, triangular, 0.2-1.8 cm long; rachis (7-) 13-30 cm long, densely scaly but glabrescent, with rachis bracts to 12 x 8 mm, with 8-14 branched and 6-10 unbranched first order branches, the proximal ones basally 5-12 x 3-5 mm across; rachillae (7-) 12-34 cm long, about 1 mm across, puberulous but glabrescent, with spaced superficial triads; buds red, flowers white, pink or cher-ry-red. STAMINATE FLOWERS with sepals imbricate, 0.8-1.2 x 1-1.6 mm, proximally keeled and gibbous, concave, with ragged membranous margins; petals red, with fleshy apex, 0.8-1.6 x 1.7-2.3 mm, broadly ovate, rounded with small apiculus; stamens 6, didymous, biseriate, with the antepetalous stamens inserted higher up and more central than the antesepalous ones, filaments 0.5-1 x 0.5-0.7 mm and triangular, anthers 0.3-0.4 x 0.5-0.6 mm, the locules dorsifixed, proximally divergent, obtuse, not versatile; pistillode invisible or nearly so. PISTILLATE FLOWERS with sepals 1.2-1.5 x 1.5-1.9 mm, broadly elliptic; petals white, elliptical with broad membranous wings, distally fleshy, 1.4-2.2 x 2-2.5 mm; staminodes six, minute; gynoecium 1-1.5 x 1.3-1.5 mm, asymmetric, the style arms up to 0.6 mm long. FRUIT ellipsoid, green (always?), 8-10 x 5-8 mm, rounded at both ends; endocarp fibrous, with somewhat anastomosing fibres. SEED ellipsoid, about x 5.5 mm, with rounded ends; endocarp deeply (> 50 %) ruminate. (J. Dransfield and H. Beentje. 1995)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.