Alsmithia longipes is a medium-sized palm, the trunk of which grows up to 10m in height.
Also known as:
Local Names:
Description
Alsmithia longipes is a medium-sized palm, the trunk of which grows up to 10m in height. The trunk has permanent regular nodes and reaches 10 cm in diameter.
The tree usually has 8-12 fronds, each 3-6 m in length. The petiole is quite long, with evenly and well spaced shiny leaflets, and there is no crown shaft. Emerging fronds can be easily distinguished by their pinkish-red colour which darkens to bronze after a few days, before turning green.
The inflorescences are large and stout, and emerge between the fronds. The Vanua Levu Alsmithia has a rich dark red flower stem and bright yellow flowers while the Taveuni Alsmithia flower stalk is whitish turning pale pink, or greenish, and the flower buds have a similar color.
Distribution
This palm is restricted to the undisturbed wetter forests of Taveuni and is known from one location, the foothills of Mt Sorolevu, on Vanua Levu.
Habitat Ecology and Behaviour
The palm A. longipes occurs as an understory or forest-edge palm on ridges and steep slopes in the wettest areas of Fiji: the northern and eastern slopes of Taveuni. These parts of Taveuni can have an annual rainfall of over 9000 mm. The large size and strong fragrance of the fruits indicate that it is dispersed by fruit-bats (Pteralopex or Pteropus spp) rather than by birds.
There is still much to be researched on this palm, such as its seasonality, which birds, bats and insects it is interdependent with for seed dispersal and pollination, why it only grows in its current habitat and range, and if it was ever widespread in the past.
Threats
Habitat loss or degradation because of land clearing for agricultural activities is a threat to the survival of this species. Poor forest management and conversion activities on the two islands, Taveuni and Vanua Levu can result in the extinction of this palm, as it is found nowhere else in the world.
Rats are one of the main predators of Fiji’s palms, and may be very destructive as they not only eat the palm fruit but also the germinating seedlings. Rat predation on germinating seeds prevents the recruitment of new seedlings into the population, thus decreasing their numbers.
Conservation Status
This palm is listed as threatened because of its very restricted distribution on Taveuni and Vanua Levu. There were initially only two populations known, one from each island, however, three more populations have recently been found on Taveuni. Of these new populations, only one is within the Bouma National Heritage Park, Taveuni’s largest conservation area. While there has been a lot of conservation effort and research conducted on Viti Levu, Vanua Levu and Taveuni have not had as much attention. Therefore the future of Fiji’s endemic plants and animals occurring on these islands is of conservation concern because of the lack of knowledge available on which to base conservation and management initiatives and the rapid spread of logging and conversion of forest to mahogany plantations.
Remarks and Cultural Significance
This palm is listed as threatened because of its very restricted distribution on Taveuni and Vanua Levu.
There were initially only two populations known, one from each island, however, three more populations have recently been found on Taveuni. Of these new populations, only one is within the Bouma National Heritage Park, Taveuni’s largest conservation area. While there has been a lot of conservation effort and research conducted on Viti Levu, Vanua Levu and Taveuni have not had as much attention.
Therefore the future of Fiji’s endemic plants and animals occurring on these islands is of conservation concern because of the lack of knowledge available on which to base conservation and management initiatives and the rapid spread of logging and conversion of forest to mahogany plantations.
References
Norup (2005);
Moore et al. (2005);
Watling (2005).