Dypsis psammophila

Description

Clustering palm. STEMS to 4 (-6) m, 3 cm. in diam., 1.7 cm. in diam. near crown; bark tending to be black, internodes about 15 cm near base, 1.2-1.8 cm near crown; crownshaft 40 cm, green with white wax. LEAVES arcuate, about 2 m; sheath 27-30 cm, with dense scattered scales, no ligule; petiole 20 cm, proximally 0.5 x 0.45 cm, distally 0.5 x 0.4 cm. in diam., with minute scales; rachis about 76 cm long, with densely scattered scales; leaflets about 40 on each side of the rachis, regular, strongly curved, proximal 27-41 x 0.3-0.8 cm, median 36-37 x 0.7-0.9 cm, distal 8.5-37 x 0.2-0.9 cm, adaxially glaucous, main vein 1, ramenta few or sometimes 0-1, basal, otherwise glabrous, apex attenuate, unequally bifid. INFLORESCENCE branching to 2 orders; peduncle 31 cm, with non-sheathing peduncular bracts (10-12 mm) at 26 and 29 cm above the base of the peduncle; prophyll 21-2 cm; peduncular bract 41 cm (from base of peduncle, not insertion point), glabrous; rachis about 13 cm, 7 x 4 mm. in diam. proximally; narrowly triangular, 7 mm; rachillae 13-18 cm, with bare basal part 1.5-2 mm. in diam., glabrous, with triads distant and in slight pits; on the Onive R., April 1971, fr., Moore 9920 at P) seems intermediate between this taxon and D. onilahensis. It occurs in low canopy rain forest, has the inflorescence and fruit of the former, but the leaves resemble those of the latter - although admittedly on the short side. It has no petiole. The habit is also more like onilahensis, with a solitary trunk about 10 m high and 7.5 cm. in diameter. The local name was lafazovombona. (J. Dransfield and H. Beentje. 1995)/Palmweb.