''Adonidia dransfieldii'' is a species of ''

Adonidia ''Adonidia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Arecaceae, native to the Philippines and Borneo. History of the genus The genus was originally described in 1919. In 1957, it was transferred to the genus ''Veitchia''. In 2008, further ...

'' palm native to

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...

, Borneo, Malaysia. It grows up to in height. It is very similar in appearance to the much more common ''

Adonidia merrillii ''Adonidia merrillii'', the Manila palm, is a palm tree species native to the Philippines (Palawan and Danjugan Island). This palm was cultivated for centuries in East Asia before becoming a staple in the West. It is reportedly naturalized in the ...

'' with the chief visual differences being a slightly more golden coloration, more slender trunk, more upright inflorescence, thinner leaves, and less clefted trunks. However, the basic overall appearance is quite similar and, given the relatively short biological distance between Sabah and

Palawan Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in ...

, suggests a recent speciation in the past few million years or less. Notably, this species, though critically endangered, may be the older of the two. First discovered in 1998 from a mere 14 individuals in the wild, it took some time to ascertain the scientific aspect of this species. This was in part due to the process of allowing the collected seeds to grow and mature at Sabah's Forest Research Centre. Over time, differences between this species and ''Adonidia merrillii'' became evident. It was finally described scientifically in 2015.

References

Ptychospermatinae Endemic flora of Borneo Flora of Sabah {{Areceae-stub