Kingdom Plantae Subfamily Calamoideae Species S. samoensis Rank Genus | Family Arecaceae Tribe Calameae Scientific name Solfia Order Arecales | |
Similar Ptychococcus, Drymophloeus, Neonicholsonia, Cyphokentia, Actinokentia | ||
Solfia is a rare, monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family endemic to Samoa, where the only known species is Solfia samoensis.
Contents
Description
The trunk is solitary and ringed, colored brown, no more than 8 cm wide. The sheath of the pinnate leaf is extended, wrapping around the trunk to form a tall, slender crownshaft. The petiole is short, the thin rachis bears regularly spaced, reduplicate leaflets with a prominent midrib and jagged ends. The inflorescence emerges below the crownshaft, initially enclosed by a prophyll, with a single peduncular bract. Monoecious, there are staminate and pistillate flowers present in each plant, borne on the rachillae as triads of two males surrounding one female. Fleshy and red when ripe, the fruit becomes wrinkled when dry, carrying one seed with homogeneous endosperm.
Distribution and habitat
Solfia samoensis is one of two palms confined to Samoa, growing in wet, mountainous, montane rain and cloud forests, exceeding 500 m.