''Livistona humilis'', the sand palm, is an Australian plant species of the family Arecaceae. It is a small, slender palm, growing to about 7 m tall and 5–8 cm dbh. It has 8 to 15 fan-shaped leaves, 30–50 cm long with petioles 40–70 cm long. It is endemic to the

Top End The Top End of Australia's Northern Territory is a geographical region encompassing the northernmost section of the Northern Territory, which aside from the Cape York Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Australian continent. It covers a ra ...

of the Northern Territory in Australia. Genetic investigation suggests that its closest relation is ''

Livistona inermis ''Livistona'' is a genus of palms, the botanical family Arecaceae, native to southeastern and eastern Asia, Australasia, and the Horn of Africa. They are fan palms, the leaves with an armed petiole terminating in a rounded, costapalmate fa ...

''. This palm is fire tolerant and usually grows in environments where it is exposed to frequent fires. ''Livistona humilis'' is dioecious and sexually dimorphic. The flower stalks on the female plant are erect and up to 230 cm long, while the male plant's flower stalks are up to 180 cm long and curved. The flowers are small and yellow, 2 mm to 4 mm across. Fruit is shiny purple black, ellipsoid, pyriform, or obovoid, 11–19 mm long and 8–10 mm in diameter.

Taxonomy

The first description of the species was by Robert Brown in his ''

Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen'' (Prodromus of the Flora of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land) is a flora of Australia written by botanist Robert Brown and published in 1810. Often referred to as ''Prodromus Flora Novae ...

'' (1810). A partial taxonomic revision in 1963 resolved the typification of the genus, established by Brown to accommodate this species and ''

''; ''Livistona humilis'' is recognised as the type for the genus ''

Livistona ''Livistona'' is a genus of palms, the botanical family Arecaceae, native to southeastern and eastern Asia, Australasia, and the Horn of Africa. They are fan palms, the leaves with an armed petiole terminating in a rounded, costapalmate f ...

''. His collaborator

Ferdinand Bauer Ferdinand Lucas Bauer (20 January 1760 – 17 March 1826) was an Austrian botanical illustrator who travelled on Matthew Flinders' expedition to Australia. Biography Early life and career Bauer was born in Feldsberg in 1760, the youngest son ...

, the botanist and master illustrator, produced artworks to accompany Brown's descriptions, but these were not published until 1838. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of sever ...

of this species was collected in January 1803 by Robert Brown from Morgans Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria. The name comes from the Latin ''humilis'', meaning "low" – referring to its small stature.

Distribution and habitat

The sand palm is endemic to the north of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

of Australia, from the Fitzmaurice River to Cape Arnhem and inland as far as

Katherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

. It occurs in open forest and woodland up to about 240 m above sea level, most commonly on deep sandy soils and sandy lateritic soils, but it is found in various soils and rocky areas. It frequently grows beneath a

eucalypt Eucalypt is a descriptive name for woody plants with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australasia: ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', '' Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...

understorey.

Phenology

Flowering: September to May. Fruiting: January to June.

In Aboriginal culture

Aboriginal people use this palm in a number of ways. The fruits are edible. The heart (central growing tip) can be eaten, either raw or roasted. The core of the stem is pounded and made into a drink which is used to treat coughs, colds, chest infections, diarrhea, and tuberculosis. Backache is treated with the crushed stem core. The fruit and growing shoot can be used as a black or purple dye. In the

Yolŋu The Yolngu or Yolŋu () are an aggregation of Aboriginal Australian people inhabiting north-eastern Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. ''Yolngu'' means "person" in the Yolŋu languages. The terms Murngin, Wulamba, Yalnumata, ...

language of East Arnhem Land the palm is called ''dhalpi, while in the

Kunwinjku The Kunwinjku (formerly written Gunwinggu) people are an Australian Aboriginal people, one of several groups within the Bininj people, who live around West Arnhem Land to the east of Darwin, Northern Territory. Kunwinjku people generally refer t ...

language of West Arnhem Land it is known as ''mankurlurrudj'', or alternatively ''marrabbi'' in the eastern

Kuninjku dialect Kuninjku is a dialect of Bininj Kunwok, an Australian Aboriginal language. The Aboriginal people who speak Kuninjku are the Bininj people, who live primarily in western Arnhem Land. Kuninjku is spoken primarily in the east of the Bininj Kunwo ...

Conservation status

Not currently included in the Northern Territory threatened species list.

Gallery

Livistona humilis Bauer in Martius Historia naturalis palmarum plate 110.jpg,

in Martius ''Historia naturalis palmarum'' (1838) Plate 110 Livistona humilis Bauer in Martius Historia naturalis palmarum plate 111.jpg, Bauer's second illustration of the species. Plate 111.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5977516 humilis Palms of Australia Trees of Australia Flora of the Northern Territory Dioecious plants