''Howea belmoreana'', the curly palm, kentia palm, or Belmore sentry palm, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

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 t ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

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 ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland Po ...

, Australia. It and ''

Howea forsteriana ''Howea forsteriana'', the Kentia palm, thatch palm or palm court palm, is a species of flowering plant in the palm family, Arecaceae, endemic to Lord Howe Island in Australia. It is also widely grown on Norfolk Island. It is a relatively slow-g ...

'' probably evolved from a common ancestor through

sympatric speciation Sympatric speciation is the evolution of a new species from a surviving ancestral species while both continue to inhabit the same geographic region. In evolutionary biology and biogeography, sympatric and sympatry are terms referring to organi ...

. The canopy of a mature kentia palm tree spreads in diameter and contains roughly 36 leaves. ''Howea belmoreana'' has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

Effects of mycorrhiza on speciation

''Howea belmoreana'' is restricted to the volcanic soils on Lord Howe Island, whereas ''H. forsteriana'' is found on both alkaline

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an ad ...

and volcanic soils, the two most common soil types found on the island. ''Howea belmoreana'' is more common on volcanic soils and has a higher survival rate than ''H. forsteriana''. Osborne et al. (2018) suggest that the speciation of ''H. forsteriana'' and ''Howea belmoreana'' is partially a result of difference in

arbuscular mycorrhiza An arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) (plural ''mycorrhizae'', a.k.a. ''endomycorrhiza'') is a type of mycorrhiza in which the symbiont fungus (''AM fungi'', or AMF) penetrates the cortical cells of the roots of a vascular plant forming arbuscules. ( ...

based on soil types. The levels of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi were significantly lower in the roots of ''Howea forsteriana'' on volcanic soil, compared to the same species on calcareous soil and to ''Howea belmoreana'' on the same volcanic soil. The symbiotic relationship between the plant and the fungi exchanges carbons from the plant for essential nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphate that would be otherwise inaccessible to the plant. The decreased fungal relationships in ''Howea forsteriana'' in volcanic soil may disadvantage it compared to ''Howea belmoreana''.

References

Palms of Australia belmoreana Vulnerable flora of Australia Endemic flora of Lord Howe Island Taxa named by Odoardo Beccari Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Plants described in 1877 {{Australia-plant-stub