Phoenix loureiroi is a species of flowering plant in the palm family, indigenous to southern Asia, from the southern islands of the Philippines, India, southern Bhutan, Taiwan to Hong Kong.^[1] It occurs in deciduous and evergreen forests and in clear terrain from sea level to 1,500 m altitude.^[2]

The species is named after João de Loureiro; it was originally written by Kunth as "loureirii", but this is an error to be corrected to loureiroi under the provisions of the ICBN.^[1]

Description

P. loureiroi contains solitary and clustering plants with trunks from 1-4 m high and 25 cm in width, usually covered in old leaf bases. The leaves vary to some degree but usually reach 2 m in length with leaflets wide at the base and sharply pointed apices. The leaflets emerge from the rachis at varying angles creating a stiff, plumose leaf.

The fruit is a single-seeded drupe, bluish-black when ripe, produced on erect, yellow inflorescences, usually hidden within the leaf crown. The species is noted for its variability in different habitats.^[2]

Varieties

There are two varieties,^[1] based on the presence or absence of sclerotic, tannin-filled cells along the midribs and margins of leaflets:

• Phoenix loureiroi var. loureiroi.
• Phoenix loureiroi var. pedunculata (Griff.) Govaerts (syn. P. loureiroi var. humilis S.C.Barrow).

References