Hedyscepe
| Hedyscepe | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| (unranked): | Commelinids |
| Order: | Arecales |
| Family: | Arecaceae |
| Subtribe: | Rhopalostylidinae |
| Genus: |
Hedyscepe H.Wendl. & Drude |
| Species: | H. canterburyana |
| Binomial name | |
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Hedyscepe canterburyana (C. Moore & F.Muell.) H. Wendl. |
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| H. canterburyana is endemic to Lord Howe Island | |
Hedyscepe canterburyana, the big mountain palm or umbrella palm, is the sole species in the genus Hedyscepe of the Arecaceae family. It is endemic to Lord Howe Island, Australia and is threatened by habitat loss. It is a solitary palm with a distinct crownshaft, and bears unisexual flowers of both sexes. With the Rhopalostylis palms of Norfolk Island and New Zealand it forms the botanic subtribe Rhopalostylidinae. If differs from Rhopalostylis in minor floral details including having more than six stamens, and in being protandrous rather than protogynous. The two genera were formerly included in Archontophoenicinae until a recent revision (Dransfield, Uhl et al., 2005). In some (but not all) molecular phylogenetic analyses, Hedyscepe was found to be nested in the New Caledonia endemic Basselinia.
Hedyscepe canterburyana is a slow-growing palm up to 10 metres (33 ft) tall which grows on mountain forests, cliffs, and exposed ridges overlooking the sea, at about 400–750 m (1,310–2,460 ft) of altitude. It has a slender, close-ringed trunk, a prominent silvery crownshaft and a compact crown of dense, dark green, stiffly arching recurved fronds somewhat reminiscent of those of Howea belmoreana. The egg-shaped fruit are deep red when ripe, and about 4 cm long. They appear in densely bunched fruiting spikes from below the crownshaft. Each fruit contains a single seed.
Lord Howe Island has a subtropical climate. Summers are mild to warm with regular rain, and winters are wetter and somewhat cooler. Average maximum temperatures range between 17 and 20 °C (63 and 68 °F) in winter and 24–27 °C (75–81 °F) in the summer. In winter, average minimum temperatures range between 12 and 15 °C (54 and 59 °F), and 18–22 °C (64–72 °F) in summer. Humidity averages in the 60 to 70 per cent range all year round.
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