Laccospadix is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm endemic to Queensland.[2] Only one species is known, Laccospadix australasicus, commonly called Atherton palm or Queensland kentia. The two Greek words from which it is named translate to "reservoir" and "spadix".
| Laccospadix | |
|---|---|
| Laccospadix australasicus, Herberton Range | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Arecales |
| Family: | Arecaceae |
| Subfamily: | Arecoideae |
| Tribe: | Areceae |
| Subtribe: | Linospadicinae |
| Genus: | Laccospadix H.Wendl. & Drude[1] |
| Species: | L. australasicus |
| Binomial name | |
| Laccospadix australasicus | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
Laccospadix australasicus may be solitary or clustering, in the former the trunks will grow to around 10 cm in width while clustering plants are closer to 5 cm wide. The trunks may be dark green to almost black at the base, lightening with age, and conspicuously ringed by leaf scars. Lone trunks will reach 7 m in height while the suckering varieties grow to 3.5 m. The leaves are pinnate, emerging erect with a slight arch, to 2 m on 1 m or less petioles; the petioles and rachises are usually covered in scales. The new foliage is often red to bronze, a feature more common in solitary individuals.[3]
The inflorescence is a long, unbranched spike, emerging within the leaf crown, to a meter long, carrying male and female flowers, both with three sepals and three longer petals. Laccospadix fruit is slightly ovoid, one-seeded and bright red, with a smooth epicarp and a thin fleshy mesocarp.[4]
Found in Queensland, Australia at elevations of 800–1400 m in humid rain forest, they grow on mountains and plateau where they receive little light.
Arecaceae genera | |||||||||||||||||
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Baker & Dransfield (2016) taxonomy | |||||||||||||||||
| Calamoideae |
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| Nypoideae | |||||||||||||||||
| Coryphoideae |
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| Ceroxyloideae |
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| Arecoideae |
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Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Laccospadix |
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| Laccospadix australasicus |
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