''Livistona nitida'', the Carnarvon Gorge cabbage palm, is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the family

Arecaceae The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm trees ...

. It is endemic to

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

in Australia.

Etymology

''Livistona'': the generic name was given by Robert Brown to honor Patrick Murray, Baron of Livingston, who was largely responsible for establishing the botanical gardens in Edinburgh, Scotland. ''nitida'': the specific epithet is from the Latin for shining, polished and refers to the shiny, glossy black seeds.

Description

''Livistona nitida'' has cream to yellow flowers, flowers from September to December, and fruits from November to March. It is a functionally

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

palm, growing to 35 m, with raised leaf scars. The petioles of dead leaves persist for the first metre, but they shed higher up the stem. The inflorescences are unbranched at the base, and extend beyond the limit of the crown, branching up to 4 orders. The flowers are solitary or in clusters of 2-5 and have triangular sepals. The fruit is globose (diameter 13–20 mm) and a glossy black.

Distribution

It is found In the catchments of the Dawson,

Comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...

and

Burnett River The Burnett River is a river located in the Wide Bay–Burnett and Central Queensland regions of Queensland, Australia. Course and features The Burnett River rises in the Burnett Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, close to Mount Gaeta a ...

s, and

Carnarvon Gorge Carnarvon Gorge is located in the Southern Brigalow Belt bioregion in Central Queensland (Australia), 593 km northwest of Brisbane. Primarily created by water erosion, Carnarvon Gorge is around 30 kilometres long, located in Carnarvon Natio ...

. It is abundant on the margins of streams and in flood plains, but is also found near sandstone cliffs and gorges.

Taxonomy

''Livistona nitida'' was first formally described by

Tony Rodd Anthony Norman Rodd, known as Tony Rodd, (born 1940) is an Australian botanist. Names published (incomplete list) * '' Livistona fulva'' Rodd 1998. Revision of ''Livistona'' (Arecaceae) in Australia. ''Telopea'' 8(1): 103. * '' Livistona kimb ...

in 1998. It had previously been known as ''

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 fan of ...

'' sp. ''Carnarvon''. '' L. nitida'' is the accepted name.

References

External links

Palmweb 2011
Palmweb: Palms of the World Online: ''Livistona nitida''.
Retrieved 20 April 2018. {{Taxonbar, from=Q5977518 nitida Palms of Australia Flora of Queensland Taxa named by Tony Rodd Plants described in 1998 Dioecious plants