1268
Bentinckia condapanna Berry & Roxb.
Family |
: |
Arecaceae |
Local name |
: |
English-Hill Arecanut Malayalam-Kantha-kamugu |
Flowering and fruiting period |
: |
Throughout the year |
Distribution |
: |
Southern Western Ghats |
Distribution in kerala |
: |
Pathanamthitta, Idukki, Kollam,
Thiruvananthapuram |
Habitat |
: |
Shola forests and along rock cuttings
in grasslands |
IUCN Status |
: |
Vulnerable |
Key botanical characters : Monoecious palms to 20 m tall; stem 20
cm thick, annulate, caudex 2-3 m across. Leaves pinnately compound; leaflets
50-70 x 3-5 cm, linear-lanceolate, evenly scattered, sessile; petiole 30-60
cm long, sheath rounded, 55 cm long, 26 cm broad, encircling the stem. Spadix
axillary, below the leaves, branched, 30-50 cm across; spathes many. Male
flowers small or sunken in the spirally arranged pits towards the tips of
branches; perianth lobes 6, biseriate, outer smaller, 5 mm across, orbicular,
inner longer; stamens 6, free. Female flowers larger, towards the base of the
branches of spadix; ovary 3-celled, 1 cell larger with an ovule. Fruit
subglobose, 1.2 x 0.9 cm, dark, pink. |