Hi, I'm a plant pathologist (not a very good plant biologist I'm afraid) currently struggling. I was studying the spread of a disease on Manila palms (Adonidia merrillii) when I noticed some differences with this specimen which led me to believe it might be another species (or at least another cultivar). The leaves are a tone darker in green, the trunk is slim and the crownshaft is bluish-grey. The "structure" of the leaf seems a bit different at least to me. While looking for pictures of other species I found that manila palms were previously included in the Veitchia genus. Is this a Veitchia species or a Adonidia merrillii? Could you help me with this particular specimen? I add photos of the plant (the one in the center) and close-ups of fruits and leaf.
@ Pablo José Palma Cancino
Veitchia merrillii (Becc.) is a synonym of Adonidia merrillii.
Thanks!
Dear Pablo José Palma Cancino
You were right about the particular specimen in the pictures being different from normal Manila palms because it is not Adonidia but Archontophoenix. The actual species might be A. alexandrae, though I'm not 100% sure from the images.
Thanks.
Dear Abhishek Mukherjee , wow! I've never heard of that genus before, looking at pictures it is very similar, honestly I was thinking it might be a Veitchia arecina but your suggestion seems a better fit. Thank you very much!
Regardless of the correct determination of the species by photography, it is interesting to know that It seems that there were doubts about the species Adonidia merrillii, which was previously included in Veitchia, but in the work of Zona & Fuller (1999) it is clear that Adonidia merrilli is not related to the Adonia genus after a cladistic analysis of Zona (1999 ).
Recommended bibliography:
Scott Zona and Dylan Fuller, 1999. A REVISION OF VEITCHIA (ARECACEAE — ARECOIDEAE. Harvard Papers in Botany, Harvard University Herbaria Vol. 4, No. 2 (December 1999), pp. 543-560
Zona, S. 1999. New perspectives on generic limits and relationships in the Ptychospermatinae (Arecaceae: Arecoideae). Mem. New York Bot. Gard 83: 255-263
Archontophoenix alexandrae (F. Muell.) H. Wendl. & Drude
= Ptychosperma alexandrae F.Muell.
See the type specimens at National Herbarium of Victoria, Australia (MEL) - barcode MEL516571, MEL516572, MEL516573, MEL516574, MEL516575, MEL516576, MEL516577.
Type locality - Fitzroy River, Queensland, Australia.
Collector - E.M. Bowman.
Also see the illustration given by Mueller in protologue of Ptychosperma alexandrae - Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae 5: 47–49, t. 43–44. 1865, available on BHL.
I agree that is Archontophoenix alexandrae
look:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/35403074
Dear Marcus Athaydes Liesenfeld and Rajeev Kumar Singh I hope you'll remember this post about the correct ID for this palm. I've been monitoring it closely and it seems to have recovered from a phytoplasma Lethal yellowing-like disease. Based on your species suggestion it could be a new host report. I add more photos (one taken earlier than the original uploads and two taken later, including a freshly emerged inflorescence (taken last week). Based on palm development, does the species diagnosis stays the same in your opinion? Could I give credit to any of you for assisting in species ID if we integrate this specimen in a publication? Since we need to be absolutely sure of species ID, it is highly likely that we end up doing molecular identification to confirm, but I'll be much more confortable asking for my supervisor for this analysis if an expert does a preliminary identification first (much of my thesis advisors think this is an Adonidia merrillii and that palm has been widely reported as a host of LY). I hope I'm not asking too much and offer my sincerest thanks in advance, regards!
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Geoscience
- Asia
- India