Pritchardia kaalae

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Figure 1. P. kaalae at

Conservation Status:

Rare and endangered, this palm clings to life in one or 2 high, virtually inaccessible sites in Oahu but is firmly established in cultivation.

Distribution & Habitat:

The Waianae ranges western side of Oahu around 400 metres altitude .

Description:

Palm about 5 metres high. The leaves are dark green, very large with drooping points, smooth above but waxy glaucous and closely dotted below with rusty scales. The lower costae are clothed in tawny fawn felt (Fig. 2). The inflorescence, like P. hardyi is up to 2 meters in length (Fig. 2). The fruits are smooth globose around 20 mm diameter with seeds 12-15mm in diameter (Fig. 4).

General:

The description above relates to the variety "minima". This species is amongst the most attractive of the genus, especially as a seedling (Fig. 3).

Culture:

Sunny, moist, but well drained position.

References:

Wagner, W.L., Herbst, D.R. & Sohmer, S.H. (1990) Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawaii Vol. 1-2.
Beccari and Rock, Pritchardia 1921

Figure 2. P. kaalae leaf and inflorescence.

Figure 3. Young plant of P. kaalae.

Figure 4. P. kaalae seeds

Contributed by:

Chris King (Text)
Colin Wilson (Figure 1)
Melany Chapin (Figure 2,4).
Steve Rohrmayer (Figure 3).

External Links:

Kew, PalmWeb, IUCN, JSTOR, Trebrown

Google, GoogleImages, Flickr, PalmTalk