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[[File:Livistona_mariae.jpg|frame|Figure 1. ''L. mariae'' at Maspalomas's Palmetum, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands.]]
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===Common Names: ===
Palm Valley Palm,<br/>
Red Cabbage Palm,<br/>
Central Australian Cabbage Palm<br/>

===Introduction:===
Palm Valley, situated in the Finke Gorge
National Park in the MacDonnell Range system, Northern
Territory is of considerable interest to tourists and
scientists alike largely because of the presence of a stand
of the relict cabbage palm ''Livistona mariae''
F. Muell. This species of ''Livistona''
is
restricted to an area of about 60km squared on the Finke
River and its tributaries. It is a relict species seperated
by about 1000 km from the nearest ''Livistona''
to the
north. The closest relative to ''L. mariae''
occurs on the
Fortescue River in the Hamersley Ranges, W. Aust., a
stand in many ways similar to that at Palm Valley. The relict
nature of the palms is discussed by Keast (1959), Burbidge
(1960) and Chippendale (1963).

Although the explorer Ernest Giles was the first to
discover the palms in the Finke Gorge in 1872, he almost
certainly bypassed Palm Valley itself, and its discovery is
attributed to a Lutheran missionary from Hermannsburg Mission
some time later. The valley was investigated by members of
the Horn expedition during 1894 (Tate 1896). After a visit to
the valley, Lothian (1959) discussed aspects of the palm's
reproductive behaviour.
Chippendale (1959) listed 200 plants found to occur in
Palm Valley. Since this time a total of 333 plant species
have been recorded from the valley (about a quarter of the
total number of species recorded for the whole of central
Australia!). About 10% of these species can be considered to
be of rare or restricted distribution in central Australia.
The majority of these rarer species are restricted to areas
in the valley fed by permanent water seepage.
Recently a large gas field has been discovered in the
area adjacent to and north of the park Two gas bearing wells
are situated only a few kilometres north of Palm Valley and
tapping of these wells for commercial production is being
considered.

===Habitat:===
The palm has a shallow fibrous root system
and is situated in an arid area. Therefore a suitable habitat
for its continued survival must have a permanent shallow
water supply over an area large enough to support a viable
breeding population. The area must also be protected from
severe erosion forces or have a stable soil environment, as
the palm will not survive scouring of surrounding soil.
Palm Valley appears to be one of the very few areas in
the central ranges which meets all of these requirements. The
permanent water supply in the valley appears to be associated
with the peculiar stratification of this area. The gently
sloping conglomerate and sandstone strata percolate water
from a large catchment area, down to where the valley
dissects these strata. The position of this dissection
ensures a continuous permanent seepage area along a
considerable distance of the valley floor and lower slopes.
Although other springs and seepage areas occur in the Ranges,
few, if any, extend over such a continuous area. The Finke
River bed below Palm Valley has a permanent shallow water
table for much of its length, but it is subject to severe
water wash and the few palms found there are restricted to
areas which escape the full force of the floodwaters.

===Palm Growth Rates and Ages: ===
The author was fortunate in
obtaining a number of accurately dated photographs of certain
areas of the valley taken as early as in 1917. Exact
relocation of many of the source points was made possible by
the cliff backgrounds of most of the photographs and the fact
that the narrow valley is restricted in the number of
photographic vantage points.
Almost all of the individuals present in 1917 (when the
photograph was taken) are now still present. The present
heights of the palms were estimated with a Suunto clinometer.
By using the cliff background as a scale, palm heights at the
time of the earlier photograph were estimated. Distortion due
to angle of viewing and to lens aberration was estimated to
be less than 10%. A mean annual growth rate of 10cm was
estimated for this group of palms.
Palms photographed in 1935 however, have grown
approximately 11.5 m in 38 years, a mean annual growth rate
of 30 cm. Palms in this photograph, which apparently were
absent in the earlier photographs, taken in 1918, are now up
to 12 m high, a minimum mean annual growth rate of 22 cm.
Palms grown from seed in Miami, Florida, on the bank of
a permanent stream, grew to a height of 9 to 18 m in 27 years
- an exceptional growth rate of up to 60 cm per year (Lothian
1959). A palm in the cooler climate of Melbourne Botanic
Gardens is reputed to have grown to only 3.75 m in 30 years,
a growth rate of 12.5 cm per year (Australasian Post, 31 May,
1973).
In its natural habitat, the rate of growth of the palm
appears to be mainly dependent on the water supply. The palms
showing the fastest growth rate are at Palm Bend on the bank
of the Finke River about 6 km east of the Valley. This area
has a greater depth of fertile alluvial soil and a better
water supply than most areas in Palm Valley.
The tallest palms in the valley have reached a height of
25 m. Making allowances for different growth rates at various
ages, 100 to 300 years seems a reasonable estimate of the age
of the oldest individuals of ''Livistona mariae''
.

===Description: ===
A large robust fan palm, stiff glaucous leaves with a coating
of thin wax on the underside. Strongly costapalmate with
heavily convoluted leaves.
Closely related to
''L. rigida''.

===Cultivation: ===
See Cultivation notes for
''L. rigida''.

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[[File:Livistona_mariae02.jpg|frame|Figure 2. ''L. mariae'' leaf detail.]]
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===Contributed by: ===
P. K Latz, Arid Zone Research Institute, Animal Industry<br/>
and Agricultural Branch, Dept. of Northern Australia, Alice<br/>
Springs, N.T. 5750.<br/>
Migacebo (Figure 1&2).<br/>

===External Links:===
[https://powo.science.kew.org/results?q=Livistona%20mariae Kew],
[https://www.palmweb.org//?q=cdm_dataportal/taxon/88b59ac8-9672-4824-af3b-f5950b2dcd79 PalmWeb],
[https://www.iucnredlist.org/details/full/38597/0 IUCN],
[https://www.jstor.org/action/doBasicSearch?Query=Livistona+mariae JSTOR],
[https://www.trebrown.com/plant_info.php?species=Livistona+mariae Trebrown]
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[https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Livistona+mariae%22&num=10&sa=Google+Search Google],
[https://images.google.com/images?q=%22Livistona+mariae%22&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search GoogleImages],
[https://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Livistona+mariae Flickr],
[https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Livistona+mariae%22%20site:https://www.palmtalk.org/&sa=Google+Search PalmTalk]
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[[Category:Livistona|mariae]]
[[Category:Palm|Livistona_mariae]]

Livistona mariae - Revision history

P>Pacsoa at 19:04, 7 August 2024

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