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Hydriastele pinangoides

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Hydriastele pinangoides (Becc.) W.J.Baker & Loo

Family Name: Arecaceae (Palmae)
Synonyms: Nengella pinangoides Becc., Nenga pinangoides Becc., Gronophyllum micranthum (Burret) Essig & B.E.Young, Gronophyllum pinangoides (Becc.) Essig & B.E.Young, Leptophoenix macrocarpa Burret.

Hydriastele pinangoides is a slender, understorey palm with a solitary or clustering habit. Reaching 7 - 10 meters in height, it is endemic to New Guinea. The palm produces 5 - 10 pinnately compound fronds per crown, each bearing 2 - 3 irregular clusters of wedge-shaped leaflets.

Name

Family Name
Genus Epithet
Species Epithet
Name Authority
Name Status (botanical)
Synonyms
Comments
Species Summary

Classifications and Characteristics

Plant Division Angiosperms (Flowering Seed Plants) (Monocotyledon)
Plant Growth Form Palm (Solitary Habit, Clustered Habit)
Lifespan (in Singapore) Perennial
Mode of Nutrition Autotrophic
Plant Shape Fountain (Palm-like)
Maximum Height 7 m to 10 m

Biogeography

Native Distribution New Guinea
Native Habitat Terrestrial (Primary Rainforest)
Preferred Climate Zone Tropical, Highland / Montane
Local Conservation Status Non-native (Horticultural / Cultivated Only)

Description and Ethnobotany

Growth Form It is a slender, solitary or clustering palm, up to 7 - 10 m tall.
Foliage The fronds are dark-green, and even-pinnately compound, up to 0.5 - 1.75 m long including the petiole. There are 5 - 10 (-13) wedge-shaped leaflets with jagged edges on each side of the rachis; they are variable in size and shape and irregularly arranged in 2 or 3 widely spaced groups—rarely are the leaflets evenly arranged. The petiole is 15 - 54 cm long. The new fronds are red or bronze. Fronds on seedlings are bilobed and undivided.
Stems The stems are slender, up to 1.5 - 7.5 cm in diameter. Each stem bears 5 - 10 fronds.
Crown Shaft The crown shaft is 15 - 52 cm long, and green or covered in waxy bloom.
Flowers The inflorescence is infrafoliar, emerging below the fronds and crown shaft, and subtended by a spathe or peduncular bract. It is (13-)18 - 30 cm long, including a 1.5 - 3 cm peduncle (central stalk on inflorescence) and branches up to 1 order with 2 - 5 (-6) arching, pink rachillae (minor, secondary axes on inflorescences). Triads of one female flower flanked by two male flowers are arranged spirally throughout each rachillae. The reddish male flowers are larger than female flowers, with 6 stamens. Female flowers have pink to reddish free sepals and petals with conspicuous triangular tips.
Fruit The fruits are ellipsoid or cylindrical to spindle-shaped drupes, up to 10 - 16 mm long and 4 - 8 mm wide. They ripen to pink, red, purple or blackish. The single seed is ellipsoid, up to 6- 10 mm long and 2 - 4 mm wide.
Habitat It can be found in lowland to montane rainforest from 0 - 1350 m above sea level.
Similar This variable species can be confused with H. divaricata and H. simbiakii when certain specimens produce regularly arranged and narrowly wedge-shaped leaflets; To differentiate, H. divaricata has divaricate leaflets and inflorescences with 1 - 2 rachillae, while H. simbiakii has flexible, usually leaning stems and 14 - 16 pairs of leaflets on a frond. H. pinangoides can also be confused with some pinnate-leaved forms of H. flabellata, although the latter tends to have a shorter, spicate or bifid inflorescence.
Cultivation It does well in moist, well-drained, loamy soil and shaded or partially shaded conditions. Older and taller plants can tolerate full sun conditions. It can be propagated by seeds.
Etymology The genus Hydriastele is derived from Greek either hydría, "water pot", hydor "water" or hydrias, "water nymph", and stḗlē, "pillar, column", possibly referring to the erect slender stems of some of the species growing near water. The specific epithet pinangoides means "Pinanga-like", referring to its resemblance to the genus Pinanga.
Ethnobotanical Uses Others: The slender stems are used to make spears, spearheads, bows, arrowheads, musical instruments, and sewing thatch. The fronds are used as roofing material.

Landscaping Features

Desirable Plant Features Ornamental Foliage
Landscape Uses Parks & Gardens

Plant Care and Propagation

Light Preference Semi-Shade
Water Preference Moderate Water, [Remarks] (Do not let the soil dry out between waterings.)
Plant Growth Rate Moderate
Rootzone Tolerance Moist Soils, Well-Drained Soils, Fertile Loamy Soils

Foliar

Foliage Retention Evergreen
Mature Foliage Colour(s) Green
Mature Foliage Texture(s) Papery
Prominent Young Flush Colour(s) Red, Orange
Foliar Type Compound (Even-Pinnate)
Foliar Arrangement Along Stem Spiral
Foliar Attachment to Stem Petiolate
Foliar Shape(s) Palm Fronds (Pinnate / Feather)
Foliar Venation Parallel
Foliar Margin Doubly Serrate
Foliar Base Cuneate
Leaf Area Index (LAI) for Green Plot Ratio 4.0 (Palm - Cluster)

Non - Foliar and Storage

Trunk Type (Palm) Aboveground, Solitary Habit, Clustering Habit
Root Type Underground (Fibrous Root)

Floral (Angiosperm)

Flower & Plant Sexuality Unisexual Flowers , Monoecious
Flower Colour(s) Purple, Red
Flower Grouping Cluster / Inflorescence
Flower Location Axillary
Flower Symmetry Asymmetrical
Inflorescence Type Spikelet / Compound Spike
Ovary Position Superior / Hypogynous
Flowering Habit Polycarpic

Fruit, Seed and Spore

Mature Fruit Colour(s) Pink, Purple, Red, Black
Fruit Classification Simple Fruit
Fruit Type Fleshy Fruit , Drupe
Seed Quantity Per Fruit Few (1-5)

References

References Baker, W.J., Barfod, A.S., Cámara-Leret, R., Dowe, J.L., Heatubun, C.D., Petoe, P., Turner, J.H., Zona, S. & Dransfield, J. (2024) Palms of New Guinea. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond. 529-535.

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Master ID 32549
Species ID 6961
Flora Disclaimer The information in this website has been compiled from reliable sources, such as reference works on medicinal plants. It is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment and NParks does not purport to provide any medical advice. Readers should always consult his/her physician before using or consuming a plant for medicinal purposes.
Species record last updated on: 21 May 2025.
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