Livistona endauensis

Livistona endauensis is a species of palm tree of the genus Livistona. It is a tree endemic to Peninsular Malaysia.[1][3] It has been called Endau fan palm in English. In Malay the palm is known as bertam or serdang Endau.[3]

Livistona endauensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Genus: Livistona
Species:
L. endauensis
Binomial name
Livistona endauensis
J.Dransf. & K.M.Wong[2]

Taxonomy

Livistona endauensis was recognised as a new species relatively recently, being described in 1987 by John Dransfield and Khoon Meng Wong in a article published in the Malayan Nature Journal. The holotype was collected by Dransfield at 400 metres in altitude in 1977 on the Gunong Janing ('Janing mountain'), a mountain in the state of Johor, and has the collection number JD#5089. It is housed at the herbarium at Kew Botanical Gardens, with an isotype kept at the herbarium at the Forest Research Institute Malaysia in Kepong.[2]

Description

The seed is round and about 1cm in diameter; the testa intrudes shallowly into its surface. The eophyll, which is the first fully-expanded leaf of a seedling palm, has five ribs.[4]

Ecology

It is found in lowland open and closed forests.[1] In the jungles where it occurs, it is found in a specific habitat on edaphically marginal, infertile soils on slopes, ridges and on hill tops. In such places it is a dominant part of the vegetation, but only in some areas. This is thought to very likely be due to being specialised on growing in sedimentary soil derived from granite or igneous rock from the Jasin complex. Other often conspicuous trees associated with this habitat are the dipterocarps Cotylelobium lanceolatum and Shorea blumutensis.[5]

It is found in an area where there were still a relative number of wild rhinos in the 1970s.[5]

Conservation

In 1998 it was assessed as a 'near threatened' species in the IUCN Red List, because its populations were severely fragmented, and there was a decline of mature individuals at the time.[1] It was not evaluated in the Malaysia Plant Red List, published 2010.[3] A population is protected in the Endau-Rompin National Park.[5]

References
  1. Saw, L.G. (1998). "Livistona endauensis". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 1998: e.T38596A10131047. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  2. "Livistona endauensis". International Plant Names Index. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries and Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  3. "Livistona endauensis J.Dransf. & K.M.Wong - Arecaceae". Malaysia Biodiversity Information System (MyBIS). Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (KeTSA). 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  4. Dowe, John Leslie (2009). "A taxonomic account of Livistona R.Br. (Arecaceae)" (PDF). Gardens' Bulletin Singapore. 60: 243–246. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  5. Wong, K.M.; Low, Yee Wen; Aziz, A.O.; Lepun, P.; Zahid, M.S.; Manickam, S.; Zulkapli, I.; Chew, K.L. (2005). "Where the Rhino Roams : A Survey of the Vegetation of the Selai Area in the Endau-Rompin National Park, Johor, Malaysia". In Mohamed, H.; Zakaria-Ismail, M. (eds.). The Forests and Biodiversity of Selai Endau-Rompin. Johor National Parks Corporation. pp. 17–26.



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