Pritchardia remota
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| Pritchardia remota Becc. |
Pritchardia remota (Nihoa Pritchardia, Nihoa Fan Palm, or Loulu) is a species of palm endemic on the island of Nihoa, Hawaii, and later transplanted to the island of Laysan. It is a smaller tree than most other species of Pritchardia, typically reaching only 4-5 m tall and with a trunk diameter of 15 cm. Even though it is the only type of tree on the island, the palms used to be abundant. In 1885, however, a fire ravaged the island, destroying most of the palms. Only about 700 of these trees remain, making the species endangered. Fortunately, numbers are slowly increasing. The palm is currently being cutivated in botanical gardens.[1]
Though it is impossible to mistake P. remota for any other species in its natural habitat, it one can tell it apart from other Pritchardia species by its wavy leaves, its short and hairless inflorescences, and its tiny, spherical fruits.[2]
A similar undescribed species existed on Laysan, but was made extinct after Laysan was mined for guano.
[edit] Habitat
A 1996 survey found a total of four plant populations of 680 palms on the island.[3] Groves of P. remota palms grow in coastal mesic valley depressions in two valleys on Nihoa:[4] The largest population grows in the West Palm Valley, while the three smaller populations are found in the East Palm Valley.[3] Up to 50% of the pollen found in soil cores taken from lowland sites in the Main Islands comes from Pritchardia palms similar to this species. This is because these palms were once abundant there until around the year 1000, when the human population grew dramatically. The trees were cleared for agriculture and used for timber and firewood.[5]
Ancient Nihoans probably used the trees expansively as well, and this could have caused their water supply to be contaminated with guano. This, in conjunction with several drought years due to El Niño, could have caused the residents of Nihoa to give up and return to the Main Islands, which indeed happened before Nihoa was discovered by the Europeans in the 1700s.[6] The species' longevity is also threatened by flash floods which have been noted to occur in the lower part of Nihoa's East Palm Valley, one habitat of the palm.[7]
P. remota provides a nesting place for Red-footed Boobies and a perching spot for Brown Noddies.[8]
[edit] References
[edit] Bibliography
- Bruegmann, M. M.; Z. E. Ellshoff (1996). "Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination of Endangered Status for Three Plants from the Island of Nihoa, Hawaii". Federal Register 61 (163): 43178-43184. United States Government Printing Office.
- Evenhuis, Neal L. (ed.); Eldredge, Lucius G. (ed.) (2004). Natural History of Nihoa and Necker Islands, Bishop Museum Bulletin in Cultural and Environmental Studies; No. 1. Honolulu, Hawaii: Bishop Museum Press. ISBN 1-58178-029-X.
- Gemmill (1998). Pritchardia remota. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Listed as Endangered (EN A2ce, B1+2abcde, C1+2a v2.3)
- Gray, Mike (2008). Pritchardia remota. Palms. Palm and Cycad Society of Australia. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
- Hawaii Biological Survey (2006). Pritchardia remota. Good Guys and Bad Guys. Bernice P. Bishop Museum. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
- Rauzon, Mark (2001). Isles of Refuge: Wildlife and History of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, University of Hawaii Press. Honolulu, Hawaii: Bishop Museum Press. ISBN 0-8248-2209-2330-3.
