Product Description
Habitat and Distribution
Endemic to Madagascar. Maroantsetra, Mananara and near Fenoarivo. Littoral forest or moist lowland rain forest, on steep or level slope; alt. 1-300 m.
Description
Clustering palm in tufts of 3-12 stems. STEMS 3-6 m high, 3-5 cm in diam.; somewhat stilt-rooted at base; internodes 3-10 cm, brown; wood soft; crownshaft moderately well-developed, with occasionally a yellowish stripe below the rachis. LEAVES 8-9 in the crown (sometimes with up to 4 marcescent leaves present), spirally inserted, porrect and arching; sheath pale creamy yellow or green, spotted with red, 24-30 cm long, with scattered brown scales (distally rather dense), with auricles to 3.2 cm high; petiole absent or up to 10 cm long, with scattered scales, channelled adaxially, 9-10 x 5-6 mm in diam.; rachis 79-94 cm long, in mid-leaf 5-6 mm wide, with scattered scales; leaflets 8-21 on each side of the rachis, regular, stiff, straight, in one plane, somewhat arcuate, 1-4 folds wide, proximal 25-63 x 0.1-3.6 cm, median 62-72 x 1.7-11 cm (interval 6-7.5 cm), distal 42-55 x 7-10 cm, main veins 1-4, apices long-attenuate, main veins with ramenta, minor veins with scattered scales, distal pair joined for 11-17 cm, with 8 main veins, apices dentate over a width of 2-2.2 cm. INFLORESCENCE interfoliar, branched to 2 orders, spreading, about 50 x 50 cm; peduncle 28-64 cm, distally 1.2-1.7 x 0.5-1 cm in diam., rusty-pubescent; prophyll 29-54 cm long, borne at 13-17 cm above the base of the peduncle, 2.2-2.5 cm wide, with scattered scales, opening for the distal 4-6 cm; peduncular bract inserted at 21-30 cm from the base of the peduncle, 12-30 cm long, split over its distal 10-14 cm; rachis 14-19 cm, with 4-6 branching and 7-16 unbranched first order branches (the proximal with an axis of 9 cm, with 5 rachillae), all axes hairy; rachillae 10-28 cm long, with scattered scales, with distant triads. STAMINATE FLOWERS orange in bud; sepals 1.3-1.8 x 1.2-1.5 mm, the middle one sometimes very asymmetrical; petals 1.9-2.8 x 1.5-2.1 mm; stamens 6, didymous, 1- or biseriate (offset to 0.4 mm), filaments 0.8-1 mm, fat and ellipsoid, anthers 0.6-0.7 x 0.7-0.9 mm; pistillode about 1 x 1.2 mm, pyramidal. PISTILLATE FLOWERS unknown. FRUIT unknown. (J. Dransfield and H. Beentje. 1995)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.
Distinct from the very similar D. mangorensis in the more-branched inflorescence with shorter rachillae, and from the similar D. procera and D. paludosa in the six (not three) stamens. (J. Dransfield and H. Beentje. 1995)/Palmweb.
Culture
In cultivation it requires moist shady areas and is an excellent potted plant. Cold Hardiness Zone: 10a
Comments and Curiosities
A fairly rare species from lowland rain forest, but highly distinctive. The name faneva (flag in Malagasy) refers to the leaves, which are remarkable for the large terminal flabellum. (J. Dransfield and H. Beentje. 1995)/Palmweb.
Conservation: Endangered. The lowland rain forest in this area is not well protected, and numbers are low; we have seen less than fifty individuals. (J. Dransfield and H. Beentje. 1995)/Palmweb.
A midsized palm from coastal and lowland rainforests in the northeast of Madagascar with slender, clustering stems and rather sparsely pinnate leaves with large terminal leaflets. This rare species has only recently been described and is best suited for the tropical garden. (RPS.com)
