Summary
Knowledge of New Caledonian palms (Arecaceae) has increased dramatically during the past few years with a wealth of new morphological, anatomical, ecological and molecular data now available. This information makes necessary several changes in the definition of New Caledonian endemic genera. In this article, we present a synopsis of all palm genera of New Caledonia and the subtribes to which they belong, keys for their identification, and a checklist of the species with new combinations where necessary. We retain nine genera of Areceae instead of the 15 previously recognised. The monotypic genera Alloschmidia, Campecarpus, Moratia, Lavoixia and Veillonia, and the bispecific genus Brongniartikentia, are reduced into synonymy with other genera. We provide a description and discussion of the correspondingly enlarged genera Basselinia, Cyphophoenix, Cyphokentia and Clinosperma, as well as notes on the four subtribes now recognised on the island: Livistoninae, Archontophoenicinae, Clinospermatinae and Basseliniinae. In addition, we formally incorporate the monotypic genus Lepidorrhachis from Lord Howe Island within the Basseliniinae. As a result of the changes made here at the generic and specific levels, the family Arecaceae in New Caledonia now comprises 10 genera and 38 species. Five new combinations are made.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Asmussen, C. B., Baker, W. J. & Dransfield, J. (2000). Phylogeny of the palm family (Arecaceae) based on rps16 intron and trnL-trnF plastid DNA sequences. In: K. L. Wilson & D. A. Morrison (eds.), Monocots: systematics and evolution, pp. 525 – 537. CSIRO, Melbourne, Australia.
____, Dransfield, J., Deickmann, V., Barfod, A. S., Pintaud, J.-C. & Baker, W. J. (2006). A new subfamily classification of the palm family (Arecaceae): evidence from plastid DNA phylogeny. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 151: 15 – 38.
Baker, W. J. & Hutton, I. (2006). Lepidorrhachis. Palms 50: 33 – 38.
____, Asmussen, C. B., Barrow, S. C., Dransfield, J. & Hedderson, T. A. (1999). A phylogenetic study of the palm family (Palmae) based on chloroplast DNA sequences from the trnL-trnF region. Pl. Syst. Evol. 219: 111 – 126.
Beccari, O. (1910). Palme Australasiche nuove o poco note. Webbia 3: 131 – 165.
____ (1920). Le palme della Nuova Caledonia. M. Ricci, Firenze, Italy.
____ & Pichi-Sermolli, R. E. G. (1955). Subfamiliae Arecoidearum Palmae Gerontogeae, Tribuum et Generum Conspectus. Webbia 11: 1 – 187.
Brongniart, A. (1873). Notice sur les palmiers de la Nouvelle-Calédonie. Compt. Rend. Hebd. Séances Acad. Sci. 77: 396 – 402.
Burret, M. (1935). New palms from Fiji. Occas. Pap. Bernice Pauahi Bishop Mus. 11 (4): 1 – 14.
____ (1940). Palmen und Tiliaceen von der Südsee aus der sammlung des Bernice P. Bishop Museums, Honolulu, Hawaii. Notizbl. Bot. Gart. Berlin-Dahlem 15: 85 – 96.
Chapin, M., Essig, F. B. & Pintaud, J.-C. (2001). The morphology and histology of the fruits of Pelagodoxa (Arecaceae): taxonomic and biogeographical implications. Syst. Bot. 26: 779 – 785.
Cook, O. F. (1927). Kentia palms in California: South Pacific island palms adapted to coast conditions. J. Heredity 18: 397 – 419.
Dammer, U. (1906). Palmae. In: R. Schlechter. Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Flora von Neu Kaledonien. Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 39: 20 – 22.
Dransfield, J., Uhl, N. W., Asmussen, C. B., Baker, W. J., Harley, M. M. & Lewis, C. E. (2005). A new phylogenetic classification of the palm family, Arecaceae. Kew Bull. 60: 559 – 569.
Essig, F. B. & Hernandez, N. (2002). A systematic histological study of palm fruits. V. Subtribe Archontophoenicinae (Arecaceae). Brittonia 54: 65 – 71.
____, Manka, T. J. & Bussard, L. (1999). A systematic histological study of palm fruits. III. Subtribe Iguanurinae (Arecaceae). Brittonia 51: 307 – 325.
Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J. (2005). World Checklist of Palms. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, U.K.
Hodel, D. R. & Pintaud, J.-C. (1998). The palms of New Caledonia. Allen Press, Lawrence, Kansas, U.S.A.
Hooker, J. D. (1883). Palmae. In: G. Bentham and J. D. Hooker, Genera Plantarum 3, pp. 870 – 948. L. Reeve & Co., London, U.K.
Johnson, D. (1996). Palms: Their conservation and sustained utilization. Status survey and conservation action plan. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, U.K.
Lewis, C. E. & Doyle, J. J. (2002). A phylogenetic analysis of tribe Areceae (Arecaceae) using two low-copy nuclear genes. Pl. Syst. Evol. 236: 1 – 17.
Martelli, U. (1934). Generi, specie e varietà nuove di palme gerontogee della tribù Arecaceae lasciate inedite dal Dr. Od. Beccari ed ordinate a cura di U. Martelli. Atti Soc. Tosc. Sci. Nat. Pisa Processi Verbali 44: 114 – 176.
Moore, H. E. (1976). Gentes Herb. 11: 154.
____ (1978). New genera and species of Palmae from New Caledonia. Gentes Herb. 11: 291 – 309.
____ (1980) New genera and species of Palmae from New Caledonia, 2. Gentes Herb. 12: 17 – 24.
____ & Uhl, N. W. (1984). The indigenous palms of New Caledonia. Allertonia 3: 313 – 402.
Norup, M. V. (2005). Alsmithia subsumed in Heterospathe (Arecaceae, Arecoideae). Novon 15: 455 – 457.
____, Dransfield, J., Chase, M. W., Barfod, A. S., Fernando, E. S. & Baker, W. J. (2006). Homoplasious character combinations and generic delimitation: a case study from the Indo-Pacific arecoid palms (Arecaceae). Amer. J. Bot. 93: 1065 – 1080.
Pintaud, J.-C. (1999a). Phylogénie, biogéographie et écologie des palmiers de Nouvelle-Calédonie. PhD Thesis, Université de Toulouse III, France.
____ (1999b). A cladistic analysis of Archontophoenicinae (Palmae, Areceae), based on morphological and anatomical characters. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 83: 279 – 284.
____ (2000). An introduction to the palms of New Caledonia. Palms 44: 132 – 140.
____ (2006). The impact of forest disturbance on the palms of New Caledonia. Palms 50: 123 – 135.
____ & Hodel, D. R. (1998a). A revision of Kentiopsis, a genus endemic to New Caledonia. Principes 42: 32 – 33, 41 – 53.
____ & ____ (1998b). Three new species of Burretiokentia. Principes 42: 152 – 155, 160 – 166.
____ & Jaffré, T. (2002). Patterns of diversity and endemism of palms on ultramafic rocks in New Caledonia. S. African J. Sci. 97: 548 – 550.
____, ____ & Veillon, J.-M. (1999). Conservation status of New Caledonia palms. Pacific Conserv. Biol. 5: 9 – 15.
____, ____ & Puig, H. (2001). Chorology of New Caledonian palms and possible evidence of Pleistocene rain forest refugia. Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci. Paris, Sér. 3, Sci. Vie 324: 453 – 463.
Uhl, N. W. & Dransfield, J. (1987). Genera Palmarum: a classification of palms based on the work of H. E. Moore Jr. International Palm Society and L. H. Bailey Hortorium, Lawrence, Kansas, U.S.A.
Vieillard, E. (1873). Etude sur les palmiers de la Nouvelle-Calédonie. Bull. Soc. Linn. Normandie, II 6: 226 – 233.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to John Dransfield for critical comments on the manuscript and to Ian Hutton for providing additional material of Lepidorrhachis for study. Two anonymous reviewers made useful comments on the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pintaud, JC., Baker, W.J. A revision of the palm genera (Arecaceae) of New Caledonia. Kew Bull 63, 61–73 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-007-9009-3
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-007-9009-3