Archontophoenix cunninghamiana – commonly known as Bangalow palm, king palm, Illawarra palm or piccabeen palm – is a tree in the palm family Arecaceae, which is endemism to the east coast of New South Wales and Queensland, Australia.
Description
The Bangalow palm has a single trunk growing up to tall and a diameter of . The trunk is swollen at the base and is marked by prominent leaf scars at regular intervals along its length. The
crownshaft is around long and is green or purple green. Around 9 to 12 leaves (or fronds) make up the crown, each about long and with around 90 pairs of leaflets. The fronds usually have a half-twist so that the leaflets at the distal end are more or less vertical. The leaflets measure up to long and wide.
The inflorescence is a much-branched panicle arising from the base of the crownshaft and measuring up to long. The flowers are pink to lilac or purple; the staminate (functionally male) flowers measure up to long and the pistillate (functionally female) flowers are around long.
The globose fruit is a drupe to around diameter. They are bright red when ripe and contain a single seed.
Taxonomy
This species was first described in 1858 by the German botanist
Hermann Wendland, who gave it the name
Ptychosperma cunninghamianum. Seventeen years later, working with his countryman Carl Georg Oscar Drude, Wendland reviewed his description and gave the species the current combination. Their work was published in the journal
Linnaea: ein Journal für die Botanik in ihrem ganzen Umfange, oder Beiträge zur Pflanzenkunde in 1875.
Etymology
The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek (
árkhōn), meaning 'chieftain' or 'ruler', combined with the palm genus Phoenix. It was created by Wendland and Drude and refers to their perceived 'regal stature' of these palms. The species epithet
cunninghamiana was coined by Wendland to honour the English botanist Allan Cunningham.
Distribution
The native range of the Bangalow palm is from Mount Elliot, near
Townsville in tropical Queensland, southwards in coastal and sub-coastal areas to Bateman's Bay in southern New South Wales. It grows in
rainforest and wet scleophyll forest, in swampy areas and beside rivers and creeks, at altitudes ranging from sea level to .
Origin
The genus
Archontophoenix belongs to the subtribe Archontophoenicinae, which is distributed between eastern Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Lord Howe Island and
Norfolk Island, and it is believed that this region is where the all the included species originated, including
A. cunninghamiana. This is supported by the lack of any close relatives of the group in the regions to the north of Australia, e.g. Indonesia.
Invasive potential
It has become a noxious weed in many areas where it has been used as an
ornamental plant.
In southern Brazil, it has become an
invasive species, and it has been suggested that it benefits from the earlier local extinction of the native palm
Euterpe edulis.
In New Zealand, A. cunninghamiana could invade native forests, since it has the same ecological requirements as the native nīkau palm. The Department of Conservation (New Zealand) has included A. cunninghamiana in its List of Environmental Weeds in New Zealand 2024.
In the United States, the palm is commonly cultivated in California from San Luis Obispo south to the Mexican border and in much of central and southern Florida.
Gallery
File:Archontophoenix cunninghamiana 270747254.jpg|Inflorescence
File:Archontophoenix cunninghamiana 267037110.jpg|Flower
File:ArchontophoenixCseeds.jpg|Infructescence
File:Archontophoenix cunninghamiana 262681324.jpg|Fruit
File:2012-10-25 18-04-40 Pentax JH (49281553293).jpg|Cultivated in Portugal
File:Archontophoenix cunninghamiana Bryron Bay New South Wales 1980s IMG 0104 (2).jpg|Byron Bay, NSW
File:Bangalow palm (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana) and rainforest canopy, Dorrigo National Park, New South Wales 01.jpg|Dorrigo National Park, NSW.
External links
