Palms   Linospadix caninus

Synonymy:
Linospadix elegans Ridley
Bacularia caninus

Distribution:
Indonesia. Irian Jaya. In Jayapura, Paniai, Tjenderawasih and Manokwari Divisions, in rainforest at 150-1000 m altitude.

Derivation of Name:
Latin, canis - dog (possibly relates to the fruit resembling a dog's tooth, but this was not explained by Beccari).

Description:
Clustering, small palm. Stems to 2 m tall, 4-5 mm diameter; intenodes 1.2-8 cm long, dark green; crown with 5-10 leaves. Leaves 20-30 cm long, simply bifid or irregularly or regularly segmented; petiole 6-7 cm long, to 3 mm wide; pinnae 2-26 per leaf, in segmented leaf 10-12 cm long, 4-10 mm wide, once-ribbed, acuminate, 2 terminal pinnae basally united with the apex attenuate and toothed; in bifid leaf with 1 segment either side, broadly attached to the rachis, 6-7 ribbed, apex attenuate, toothed; pinnae semi-glossy, mid to dark green above, lighter green below; ribs and veins prominent on adaxial surface only.

Inflorescence to 45 cm long; peduncle 32-37 cm long, 2.5-3 mm wide, laterally compressed, margins acute; prophyll 5-6 cm long, tubular; peduncular bract linear-lanceolate, 9-15 cm long, to 2 mm wide, acuminate; rachis 8-13 cm long, slightly thicker than peduncle. Flowers cream/yellow. Staminate flowers ovate, symmetrical, apex obtuse, 3-3.5 mm long in bud; sepals large, suborbicular, concavely pouched, freely coriaceous, dorsally ridged, margins finely ciliate; petals elliptical; stamens 6-9, equal in length, filaments short, anthers oblong, yellow to orange; pistillode rudimentary; pistillate flower broadly conical, to 3.5 mm long, to 2.5 mm wide. sepals convex, not carinate. Fruit ellipsoid, fusiform, curved, attenuate to both ends. 15-28 mm long, to 3.5-5 mm wide. red at maturity; epicarp minutely longitudinally striate; mesocarp succulent; endocarp thin and opaque. Seed ellipsoid, to 10 mm long, to 2 mm wide, curved, basally rounded, apex attenuate.

Linospadix caninus is primarily distinguished by its long, curved fruit that are about twice as long as they are in its New Guinea congener, L. albertisiana . In addition, it is generally a smaller palm, and the ribs on the pinnae are raised on the adaxial side only, rather than on both sides.

Linospadix caninus - as Bacularia caninus - was described by O. Beccari from a collection made by G. M. Versteeg in 1907 from the Mr. Carstenz area in south-west Irian Jaya.

Contributed by:

John Dowe (Text - from Palms & Cycads No. 58, Jan-Mar 1998)

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