Livistona nitida

Location & distribution maps

Phylogeny & links to associated information:

Wikipedia links:       Angiosperms > Monocots > Arecales > Arecaceae > Livistona nitida

Other links:     

Plant  information

Common name:               Carnarvon Gorge Cabbage Palm 

Conservation status:   unknown

Etymology:   

• Livistona: the generic name was given by Robert Brown to honor Patrick Murray, Baron of Livingston, who was largely responsible for establishing the botanical gardens in Edinburgh, Scotland

• nitida: the specific epithet is from the Latin for shining, polished and refers to the shiny, glossy black seeds

Flowers:                  

• Cream to yellow flowers, flowers from September to December

• The inflorescences are unbranched at the base, and extend beyond the limit of the crown, branching up to 4 orders

• The flowers are solitary or in clusters of 2-5 and have triangular sepals

Fruit:                         

• Fruits from November to March

• The fruit is globose (diameter 13–20 mm) and a glossy black

Leaves:         

Stem & branches: 

• It is a functionally dioecious palm, growing to 35 m, with raised leaf scars

• The petioles of dead leaves persist for the first metre, but they shed higher up the stem

Roots:         

Habit:        

Habitat:   

• It is abundant on the margins of streams and in flood plains, but is also found near sandstone cliffs and gorges

Distribution:                  

• Endemic to Queensland

• It is found In the catchments of the Dawson, Comet and Burnett Rivers, and Carnarvon Gorge in Queensland

Additional notes:     

• Taxonomy

  • Livistona nitida was first formally described by Tony Rodd in 1998

  • It had previously been known as Livistona sp. Carnarvon

  • L. nitida is the accepted name

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livistona_nitida (2023)