News

Ceroxylon Review

The link below will take you to a paper by Maria Jose Sanin & Gloria Galeano published in December 2011.

Check it out for colour photos of all species including one new species.

Click on the link below and then click on 'Full Article' for free access to the paper.

Phytotaxa 34, A revision of the Andean wax palms, Ceroxylon (Arecaceae)

A Revision of Geonoma

If you are a fan of Geonoma then this huge 270 page volume by Andrew Henderson is a must. It reclassifies many species and subspecies. Published Feb 2011

Click on the link below and then click on 'Full Article' for free access to the paper.

Phytotaxa 17: 1–271 (18 Feb. 2011)
A revision of Geonoma (Arecaceae)

Fantastic new book

Australian Palms Biogeography, Ecology and Systematics
John Leslie Dowe
CSIRO Publishing 2010
Paperback
304 pages
ISBN 9780643096158

If you love your copy of Palms of Madagascar, then this will be a fitting accompaniment for the palms of Australia. A new book by Research Botanist John Leslie Dowe, titled Australian Palms, Biogeography, Ecology and Systematics is a beautifully presented and well laid out look at all Australian palms including those of Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands. The opening chapters of the book give an insight into early palm collecting and documentation in Australia. There are small biographies of the leading botanists which make for interesting reading, and small extracts from their work help complete the picture. Chapters also focus on fossils in Australia and New Zealand, climate, natural disasters, distribution and more. The fossil section makes compelling reading, and contains many photos, maps and tables of extinct species from Australasia. There is also a systematic arrangement of fossil palms, which shows 10 species that once lived in New Zealand but have now been lost to the mists of time.
There are many maps and graphs to help illustrate the facts of each chapter in the book. One extremely handy graph which is useful to plant growers in New Zealand, (and which would make Palms of Madagascar just that little bit better for those not in a tropical climate) is a bar graph showing the altitudinal range of each species.
But like all palm books the real purpose is in the plant descriptions. All 60 Australian species are systematically laid out and described in detail. Those familiar with books such as Palms of Madagascar will be familiar with the layout. Each species has its description as well as distribution, ecology, typification, etymology and other notes. The wonderful amount of colour photos in the descriptions helps set this book apart, and helps make it a very useful field guide, as I prefer a photo to a line drawing. Most species have adult pictures as well as fruit and male/female flower shots. Many also have have photos of the original type specimens, and all include a distribution map.
This is not a gardener's book, as it does not include cultivation tips or requirements. It is, however, the best, most up-to-date account of the palm flora of Australia, which sees a few new species named, and a few name changes, one being the return to the use of Caryota albertii. Caryota albertii was briefly that until it was lumped in with C. rumphiana, but it is now once again a stand-alone species.
If you are to buy only one palm book this year, then this should surely be it. My only complaint would be that the book is not available as a hardback.

October 2009

Will they ever stop discovering new Dypsis…?

The Dypsis Genus has jumped by another 5 species recently with the addition of the following species;
Dypsis ankirindro       Slender, clustering, to 5m
Dypsis brittiana     Slender, solitary, to 3m
Dypsis humilis            Stemless, cycad like
Dypsis makirae            Solitary to 5m
Dypsis rakotonasoloi   Slender, solitary to 2m

Livistona review

Livistona's are often hard to tell apart, and so many new species have been described in recent years. John Dowe has compiled a new taxonomic review of the Genus and the full paper (160 pages), complete with distribution maps and colour photos can be found as a PDF for free by clicking on the link below. 36 species are now named and a few changes have inevitably been made.

A taxonomic account of Livistona PDF IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE FOR FREE MARCH 2012

More new palms...

It seems like not a month goes by without another palm or six being discovered and added to the ever growing species list.

A recent addition has been found in the Genus Syagrus. The new species is thought to grow no taller than a metre, with a very short to subterranean trunk.

The palm has been named Syagrus evansiana, after Don Evans, former Director of Grounds Management at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens.

New Video Gallery

Check out the new Video Gallery here. Much more to be added soon...

PACSONZ -Now on Facebook!

You can check out our new Facebook page here!

Genera Palmarum II

August 29 2008
2008 Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
£79, US$150

Its finally here!

The second edition of Genera Palmarum is a hefty tome for all serious palm fanatics. In its 740 odd pages all aspects of Palms are covered down to Genera level. There are chapters on 'The structure of palms' (40 pages!), 'Palm pollen' (15 pages), as well as Chromosomes, Cytogenetics, Chemistry, Fossils, Phylogeny, Evolution, Biogeography, Natural History and Conservation.

After 130 pages you come to the reason you bought the book, The Classification of Palms. In this 512 page section of the book, all 183 Palm genera are described in detail with colour photos, line drawings of flower parts, distribution maps and pollen enlargements. In the text are common names, where the name of the Genus came from, distribution, anatomy, relationships, uses and more. Everything is included, including the recent discovery of Tahina spectabilis in Madagascar. There are also many changes that you may not be aware of, such as the reordering of New Caledonia's palms and that Caryota zebrina may not be a Caryota after all...

There is also a section listing Genera by region, a glossary and 3 index's.

My only complaint so far, (apart from it is very heavy to take to bed) is that the distribution for Rhopalostylis isn't quite right.

So what are you waiting for...

Order here direct from Kew

5 new Pinanga (28/07/2008)

Its not just Madagascar that gets all the new palm discoveries. It seems there is no end to new palms being discovered. 5 new species from Vietnam were recently described, they are;

Pinanga cattienensis

Pinanga cupularis

Pinanga declinata

Pinanga humilis

Pinanga kontumensis

New Caledonia has name shuffle (28/07/2008)

Some New Caledonian palms have recently been shuffled into different genera. For example Veillonia alba is now known as Cyphophoenix alba. More info soon...

Seedbank price limit rise

As of September the upper price limit for the seedbank will rise from $12 per packet to $20. This is to reflect the want of members for more seed per species and the rising cost of freight for rare species. More info will be in the next magazine.

The new palms just keep on coming in Madagascar (17/04/08)

Yet another new species of palm has just been described from the palm capital, Madagascar. Described in Vol.52(1) Mar. 2008 of the International Palm Society magazine 'Palms', Ravenea delicatula is a small solitary to clustering understorey palm to 5 metres. Coming from an altitude of 800m to 1000m it is likely to do well in New Zealand in the future. This addition to the Ravenea family brings the total Ravenea species described to 16.

New Palm Genus/Species discovered in Madagascar

A new Monocarpic and Monotypic palm has been discovered in Madagascar. The mystery palm has a huge trunk which towers over 18m high and fan leaves which are 5m in diameter -- among the largest known in flowering plants. This is the most massive palm ever to be found in Madagascar. For more information, just follow this link

Upcoming book titles

Seed to Elegance - Kevin Williams A history of the Kentia Palm. AVAILABLE NOW For more information on this title including ordering info click here

Timber Press Pocket Guide to Palms - Robert Lee Riffle

Out now

All About Palms - Ortho guides A compact Palm encyclopaedia