Editing Livistona inermis

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[[File:Livistona_inermis.jpg|frame|Figure 1. ''L. inermis'' in habitat.]]
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===Introduction: ===
In July 1988, during geological exploration in
the vicinity of Westmoreland Station in remote far northwest
Queensland, Jenny Birch (J.B.) encountered an unexpected
population of a ''Livistona'' species. Somewhat scattered
on the northern sides of a weathered sandstone tract rising
to 269m, the most dense stands appeared in the steep-sided
gullies and pockets within the range. Fruits were collected,
details noted and photographs taken. Unfortunately the
significance of the occurrence was not recognised, so samples
of leaves and infloresences were not collected. Subsequent
determinations (A.K. Irvine, J.L.D.) have placed the palm as
''Livistona inermis'' R. Br.

To verify the authenticity of the claim, the Queensland
Herbarium (Bris) was contacted. A collection labelled
''Livistona inermis'' (Farrell, F.T. 815 20th Dec. 1977)
was acknowledged, the locality at which it was collected
noted as 20&#176; 21' S by 139&#176; 44'E which is approximately 100 km
northwest of Mount Isa, and 300km east*southeast of
Westmoreland.

The locality, a tributary of the Gregory River
and within the limits of the known distribution of
''L. rigida'', introduced an element of doubt as to the
correct naming of the Farrell collection. Subsequently, an
examination of that collection was undertaken and it was
determined that it was indeed ''L. rigida'' and not
''L. inermis'' as labelled. Notwithstanding other
disclosures of misrepresentations or obscure collections of
this species, it appears that the J.B. collection from
Westmoreland is the first substantiated report of
''L. inermis'' in Queensland.
With their reddish petioles, clean trunks and
graceful form, ''Livistona inermis''
make handsome stands in the Westmoreland area. Extreme
variation in height is noticeable - odd specimens are 2 or 3
times the average height which is otherwise uniform.
 
===Location: ===
The palms occur on Westmoreland Station in far
north-west Queensland. The region has a monsoonal climate
with the 920mm annual rainfall concentrated in two months of
the year. The estimated extent of this population covers from
17&#176; 24' S to 17&#176; 28' S and 138&#176; 09' E to 138&#176; 17' S.
This is about 65km inland from the Gulf of
Carpentaria and 20km east of the Queensland/Northern
Territory border. The rocks are predominantly sandstone
conglomerate of the Westmoreland formation overlying
volcanics in parts. The palms appear to grow almost
exclusively on the sandstone and soils derived from it,
densest at the bases of weathered cliffs. In at least one
site, volcanics are at shallow depth. Occasional palms grow
in cracks and depressions on the ridges. The area is prone to
strong "gully winds" for an hour or so each night. These
would rapidly strip senescent leaves during the dry season
and probably contribute to the relatively clean trunks of the
majority of the palms in the population.

Hitherto, the recorded distribution of this species was
considered confined to the Northern Territory, throughout the
Top End from the Adelaide River to Nourlangie, including
Katherine Gorge where it reaches its highest population
density, and on the islands in the Gulf of Carpentaria
including Groote Eylandt, Maria Island and the Sir Edward
Pellew Group as well as the aforementioned (but incorrectly
determined collection) site at about 100km north-west of
Mount Isa. The type locality is the Sir Edward Pellew Group,
which is some 240kin north-west of the Westmoreland stand. It
is mentioned as occuring in Queensland (Brock 1988) but
without further details.

===Notes: ===
In the Northern Territory, ''Livistona inermis''
R. Br. has been taxonomically confused with
''L. loriphylla'' Becc. which is now considered endemic to
northern Western Australia. Contempory authors agree that
reference to ''L. loriphylla'' in the Northern Territory
should be corrected to be ''L. inermis''.

===Conclusion: ===
Further reports of this and other Livistons spp
in remote areas of north-west Queensland are to be expected
as exploration continues. The recording of ''L. inermis'' brings
the total number of ''Livistona'' spp in Queensland to 13 and to
3 the number shared between Queensland and the Northern
Territory. The others include ''L. rigida'' Becc. from the
Gregory River and its tributaries in Queensland and the Roper
and other minor rivers in the Northern Territory and
''L. benthamii'' F.M. Bail. widespread through the Top End of the
Northern Territory from near the Daly River eastward to
Nourlangie and in Queensland on Cape York Peninsula north of
the Nesbit River on the east coast and north of the Archer
River on the west coast northward to Cape York.

===References: ===
Beccari, O. (1931). Asiatic Palms- Corypheae.
Annals of Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta.<br/>
Vol. XIII. Revised & Edited by Martelli,
U. pp 1-9 and 78-104.<br/>
Brock J. (1988). Top End Native Plants.
John Brock Publisher.<br/>
Rodd, A. (Unpublished). 'Key to the Australian Species of Livistona'<br/>
Tucker, R. (1988) 'Palms of Subequatorial Queensland'. PACSOA Publication Fund.<br/>
White, A. (1988). 'Palms of the Northern Territory'.
PACSOA Publication Fund.
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[[File:Livistona_inermis04.jpg|frame|Figure 2. ''L. inermis'' leaf detail.]]
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[[File:Livistona_inermis02.jpg|frame|Figure 3. ''L. inermis'' leaves]]
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[[File:Livistona_inermis03.jpg|frame|Figure 4. ''L. inermis'']]
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===Contributed by: ===
Jenny Birch and John L. Dowe (Text from '''''Palms & Cycads''''' No. 22, Jan-Mar 1989).<br/>
Colin Wilson (Figure 1,2,3&4)<br/>


===External Links:===
[https://powo.science.kew.org/results?q=Livistona%20inermis Kew], 
[https://www.palmweb.org//?q=cdm_dataportal/taxon/34025c27-1e75-4a15-90b0-a6659b79bf94 PalmWeb],
[https://www.jstor.org/action/doBasicSearch?Query=Livistona+inermis JSTOR],
[https://www.trebrown.com/plant_info.php?species=Livistona+inermis Trebrown]
</p>
[https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Livistona+inermis%22&amp;num=10&amp;sa=Google+Search Google],
[https://images.google.com/images?q=%22Livistona+inermis%22&amp;hl=en&amp;btnG=Google+Search GoogleImages],
[https://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Livistona+inermis Flickr],
[https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Livistona+inermis%22%20site:https://www.palmtalk.org/&amp;sa=Google+Search PalmTalk]
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[[Category:Livistona|inermis]]
[[Category:Palm|Livistona_inermis]]