Pritchardia Explained

The genus Pritchardia (family Arecaceae) consists of between 24 and 40 species of fan palms (subfamily Coryphoideae) found on tropical Pacific Ocean islands in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Tuamotus, and most diversely in Hawaii.[1] [2] The generic name honors William Thomas Pritchard (1829-1907), a British consul at Fiji.[3]

Description

These palms vary in height, ranging from 6to.[4] The leaves are fan-shaped (costapalmate) and the trunk columnar, naked, smooth or fibrous, longitudinally grooved, and obscurely ringed by leaf scars. The flowers and subsequent fruit are borne in a terminal cluster with simple or compound branches of an arcuate or pendulous inflorescence that (in some species) is longer than the leaves.

Species

There are 29 known species, of which 19 are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, with the remainder on other island groups. Many are critically endangered.Oahu has the most named Pritchardia species of any of the Hawaiian islands, with nine named species on record in 1980. Eight of those species can be found in the rainy Koolau Range.[5]

Formerly placed here

Relationship with humans

Native Hawaiians (who call them loulu or noulu) often plant the trees in their traditional homes.[7] They often consume their seeds (known as hāwane or wāhane) raw,[8] use their trunk wood as building material and leaves as roof thatching in houses and temples.[7]

See also

References

Notes and References

  1. http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=165517 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. Hodel, D.R. (2007). A review of the genus Pritchardia. Palms; Journal of the International Palm Society 51(Suppl.): 1-53.
  3. Book: Quattrocchi, Umberto . CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names . 3 M-Q . CRC Press . 2000 . 978-0-8493-2677-6 . 2168.
  4. Book: Riffle, Robert Lee . An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms . Paul Craft . Timber Press . 2003 . 978-0-88192-558-6 . 419–422.
  5. Hodel . Don . Pritchardia in Hawaii . Principes . 1980 . 2 . 24 . 65–81 . April 24, 2024.
  6. Web site: GRIN Species Records of Pritchardia . Germplasm Resources Information Network . United States Department of Agriculture . 2010-12-11.
  7. Meilleur . Brien A. . June 2022 . Ancient Hawaiian house lots and their flora: a review of Great Māhele plant claims with a special focus on Pritchardia (loulu) palms . Revue d'ethnoécologie . en . 21 . 10.4000/ethnoecologie.9104 . 2267-2419 . 16–20. 252169028 . free .
  8. Chock . Alvin K. . 1968 . Hawaiian Ethnobotanical Studies I. Native Food and Beverage Plants . Economic Botany . 22 . 3 . 232 . 10.1007/BF02861956 . 4252960 . 1968EcBot..22..221C . 33483410 . 0013-0001.

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