Eden

Penang Botanic Gardens Plant Collection

Livistona saribus (Lour.) Merr. ex A.Chev. (ARECACEAE)

Posted at — Nov 13, 2019
Swamp Serdang

Description

Solitary fan-leafed palm to 40 m tall, 15-65 cm diameter. Crown roundish, with 15-30 leaves. Petiole 1-2 m long with spines along the margin; blade 1.5-1.7 m across, nearly circular, irregularly segmented in groups with pendulous tips. Inflorescence much branched, to c. 2.6 m long bearing small yellow blossoms. Fruits globose to ellipsoid, 10-18 mm across, blue to purple when mature.


Ecology

Occurs in freshwater swamp forests, often gregariously. Endangered by habitat loss.

Distribution

Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Indonesia (Batam, Sumatra and Kalimantan), the Philippines.

Uses

Rarely seen in cultivation but has an enormous potential as a landscape plant.