Palms   Archontophoenix cunninghamiana II

Common names:
Bangalow Palm
Piccabeen Palm

Description:
Palm to 30 m tall, trunk to 30 cm in diameter, usually not greatly expanded at the base. The leaves are 4-4.5 m long and have the pinnae orientated in a vertical plane toward the leaf apex; the crownshaft is dark green, red to purple; the pinnae tend to become lax with age due to the lack of strong secondary ribs. Pinnae are green beneath with ramenta to about 5 cm long on the midrib below. lnflorescence branches are white/cream; the rachillae pendulous. Flowers are lilac/purple. Staminate flowers have 9-18 stamens and the filaments are defiexed. Fruit is bright red at maturity, 10-15 cm long. Fibres in the mesocarp are thick, flat and usually loosen in the dried state.

Distribution:
East coast of Australia from Durras Mountain in southern New South Wales [35° 10'S] to Eungella Range near Mackay [21° 05'S] in Central Queensland. Confined to rainforest or other moist forest from sea-level to 1000 m altitude.

Notes:
There is considerable variation in the colour of the crownshaft and the thickness of the lamina in the bangalow palm. Interestingly, variation merges in adjacent populations and demarcation of potential varieties or even species has been impossible to determine. New leaves of the bangalow palm are often in pink/red tones. The name bangalow is aboriginal for 'water carrying basket'; the crownshaft can be fashioned, with a few deft folds and tucks into a watertight vessel, the petiole used as the handle.

Contributed by:	John Dowe,
Reproduced from	PALMS & CYCADS No. 39, Apr-Jun 1993.

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