1975] DRANSFIELD: NEW NENCA

A Remarkable New NeogaFrom Sumatra

JOHN DHANSFIELD

Herbarium Bogoriense, Bogor, Illdonc.~ia

27

Specimens in the Herbarium Bogor­iense collected by H. A. B. Bunnemeijeron Gunung Talakmau in West Sumatrain 1917 had been assigned by Furtadoon his visit to the Herbarium in 1936 tothe genus Nenga. On a preliminary ex­amination of the palms in the herbariumin 1970, I could not agree with Furtado'sidentification, but even so could notassign the specimens to any genus. Then,in February 1971, I visited Kepahiang inthe hills of the Bukit Barisan range ofSumatra near Bengkulu, an area ex­tremely rich in beautiful and interestingpalms. It was with great excitement thatI discovered a squat palm of rather mas­sive proportions growing in great abun­dance at an altitude of 800 m. in steepriver valleys and on slopes; the inflores­cences of the palm proved to be identicalto those of the Bunnemeijer collections,and on examination of the living plantsand fresh and spirit-preserved materialof flowers and fruits, I now agree withFurtado's original generic identification.The most striking feature of the wholepalm is the infructescence, which isborne interfoliarly, and resembles in itsnodding, club-shaped form, a fruitinghead of Nypa fruticans Wurmb.

I propose to call this spectacular palmNenga gajah after its local Indonesianname "pinang gajah" ("pinang" =Areca, Pinanga, Nenga and other are­coid palms, "gajah" = elephant).

Nenga gajah Dransfield, sp. nov.

Diagnosis. Differt a ceteris speciebusNengarum inflorescentia interfoliacea

spatham coriaceam persistentem ferente,paribus Horum masculorum in 5-7 serie­bus verticalibus, et capitulo fructuum.

Descriptio. Palma solitaria humilis,inermis, monoecia. Caulis crassus, ad2 m. altus, 15 em. diametro infra folia,radicibus gralliformibus praeditus, hori­zontaliter arcte ciccatricosus. Cicatricesfoliorum delapsorum ad 1 em. distantes,fibris vaginarum foliorum tectae. Inter­nodia verticaliter rugosa, cortice ali­quantum suberoso. Radices gralliformesad 1.5 em. diametro, atrobrunneae, radi­cibus conicis lateralibus spongiosis, pal­lidis pneumaticis, ad 1 mm. longis,serialibus. Folia 8-9 in corona, patentia,(cum vagina) ad 3 m. longa, vagina ad50 em. longa, pallide luteo-viridi, a caulenon munde dehiscente, marcescente etvestigium fibrosum formante, indu­mento atrobrunneo juventute sparsimtecta. Petiolus ad 75 em. longus, 2.5em. diametro, in sectione circularis, in­dumento atrobrunneo sparsim teclus.Rhachis triquetra, ad 8 mm. diametro inmedio longitudinis, ad 3 mm. diametroprope apicem, squamis brunneis sparsimtecta. Foliola leviter sigmoidea, regu­laria, utrinque 8-10, paribus 1-2 infer­ioribus unicostatis, superioribus 3-5­costatis subopposita, horizontalia, 3-6em. distantia, in medio folii ad 60 em.longa, ad 8 em. lata, apice acuminata,infra leviter pallidiora et squamis indu­mentoque pallide brunneis secus costastecta, supra glabra. Foliola terminaliasub angulo 70° inter se divergentia, acu­minata aut bifida aut leviter dentata.

Inflorescentia interfoliacea erecta, 30-

28 PRINCIPES [Vol. 19

40 em. longa. Spatha solitaria, atrobrun­nea vel violaeea, dura, eoriaeea aut paenelignosa, ad 25 em. longa, ad 4 em. lataparte latissima, 2.5 em. lata parte angus­tissima 10 em. super basim, indumento

furfuraeeo brunneo praeeipue margInl­bus tecta. Spatha pro parte quarta veltertia longitudinis uno margine lateralidissiliens et infloreseentia per fissuramlateraliter emergens, spatha per anthesin

1975] DRANSFIELD: NEW NENGA 29

2. Palm-rich Hill Dipterocarp Forest near Kepahiang; in the centre, flowering Areca latiloba Ridleywith Nenga gajah on each side; also in the photograph are Daemollorops hystrix Blume, Daemono­

rops sp. nov., and Pillanga densijlora Beccari.

longe persistens, dein in vestigiis fibrosismareeseens. Rami infloreseentiae 3-5,omnes ordinis primi. Pedunculus ad 25em. longus, in seetione ovalis, 20 X 8mm., atroviolaeeo-brunneus, pilis ramo­sis sparsim teetus. Raehillae quaequebraeta rigida triangulari erassa 5 mm.longa, basi 5 mm. lata subtentae.

Raehillae 2--4 inferiores maseulae ad10-12 em. longae, 5 mm. latae sine £lori­bus; raehilla terminalis ad 10 em. longaet basi 8 mm. diametro, maseula femine­aque aut raro tantum maseula; rachillae1-3 inferiores ca. 1-3 em. distantes, eisterminalibus et penultimis approximatis.Raehillae maseulae 1-2 em. super basimsine floribus, rachilla terminalis floribusmaseulis femineisque pro 3-4. em. in­fimis et floribus tantum maseulis propeapieem praedita. Dimensiones inflores­eentiae maturitate erescentes. Floresmaseuli ante flores femineos aperientes,

binati, quoque pare braeta minuta inraehilla subtento, quoque flore braeteolaminuta subtento. Paria florum maseu­lorum in 5-7 seriebus vertiealibus autarete spiraliter disposita, si spiralitertum flores contiguissimi; numerus serie­rum superne deerescens. Ubi raehillaein spatha eontiguissimae sunt, floresmasculi singuli abortantes, aspeetu ves­tigiorum otrorum remanentes.

Flores maseuli eremei, angulosi, ob­longi, alabastris ad 5 mm. longis, 3 mm.latis. Sepala 3, ut videtur libera, dis­juncta, minuta, triangularia, ad 0.5 mm.alta. Petala 3, libera, tenuiter coriaeea,oblonga, plana aut cucullata, si cueullatatum leviter acuta, forma variantes, im­pressione staminum intra notata. Sta­mina 6; filamenta ad 1 mm. longa; an­therae medifixae, ad 2.5 mm. longae, 0.5mm. latae, dehiseentia latrorsa; vesti­gium ovarii non videtur. Grana pollinislutea, sphaeriea, uniporata. Sub anthesin

30 PRINCIPES [Vol. 19

3. Nenga gajah by a small stream at 850 m.altitude.

flores masculi inter alabastros propin­quos exserti dein cito caduci, rachillisnudis relictis; evolutio florum masculo­rum acropeta.

Flores feminei violacei, singuli cum 2floribus masculis lateralibus aggregati,greges florum in 5-8 seriebus verticali­bus dispositi, aut series verticales propterdistortionem non prominentes. Quisquegrex florum bracta membranosa minutasubtentus; flos unusquisque bracteolosubtentus. Flores feminei rotundati ca.7 mm. longi sub anthesin. Sepala 3 li­bera, valvata, leviter cucullata, ad 7 mm.longa, basi 6 mm. lata, coriacea, persis­tentia, amplitudine post anthesin cres­centia. Petala 3, libera, valvata, coriacea,longe persistentia, ad 6 mm. longa, postanthesin ad 1 em. crescentia. Staminodia6, triangularia, minuta, ad 0.5 mm. alta.

4. Nenga gajah. Inflorescence with femaleflowers at anthesis; note the barc axes which

once bore the protandrous male flowers.

Ovarium rotundatum, ad 4 mm. diam­etro, stigmate rostrato, conico, apiceobscure trilobato. Loculo 1, ovulo 1,laterifixo, micropyle ad receptaculumspectante.

Infructescentia capitulum ·pendulumclaviforme fructum fusiformium. Fruc­tus ad 8 em. longus, 2.5 em. latus, fusi­formis vestigio stigmatis terminatus;epicarpium laeve, glabrum, atroviolaceo­brunneum; mesocarpium ad 4, mm.latum, fibris verticalibus perductum; en­docarpium laeve, intra nitidum. Semenfusiforme, 4..5 em. longum, 1.8 em.latum, secus longitudinem ad endocar­pium raphe basi 4- mm., apice 1 mm. lataaffixum. Testa ca. 0.2 mm. crassa. En­dospermium valde ruminatum, rumina­tionibus ad ca. 5 mm. penetrantibus,

1975] DRANSFIELD: NEW NENGA 31

5. Nenga gajah. Pendulous infructesc''1H:ewith almost ripe fruit. The sto('ky stem with afew stilt roots and the untidy "rown can abo

be seen.

parte centrali endospermii non ruminata.Embryo conicus, basalis, 4 mm. longus,3 mm. latus. Folium plantulae binatum.

Habitat in clivis et secus fluvios, 800m., Hill Dipterocarp Forest, Kepahiang,

Bengkulu, Sumatra.Holotypus: Dransfield 12.)4, 12.2.71.

BO (lsotypi BH, K, L).Diagnosis. Differing from all other

species of Nen~a in the interfoliar in­florescence bearing one persistent coria­ceous spathe, pairs of male flowers ill 5­7 rows, and in the head of fruit.

Description. Solitary, squat, unarmed,monoecious, undergrowth, forest palm.Stem stout, stilt-rooted, to 2 m. high and15 em. in diameter below the leaves, grey-

(i. N"f/,{<a {<ajah Kcpahiang. August, 197.3.

brown and marked with close horizontalleaf scars. Leaf scars more or less 1 em.distant, to 4 mm. broad, with persistentleaf sheath fibres. Internodes with verti­cal wrinkles, bark somewhat corky. Stiltroots to 1.5 em. in diameter, dark brownwith rows of paler, conical, spongy,short, lateral, pneumatophore roots to 1mm. long. Leaves 8-10 in crown, spread­ing, to 3 m. long including sheath; leafsheath to 50 em., long pale yellowish­green, not cleanly dehiscing from thestem, but rotting to form a fibrous ves­tige of the leaf sheath base; sheaths cov­ered in sparse dark brown indumentumwhen young. Petiole to 75 em. long by2.5 em. in diameter, circular in cross­section, with sparse dark brown indu­mentum. Rhachis about halfway along

32 PRINCIPES [Vol. 19

7. Nenga gajah Kepahiang, August, 1973.Note stilt roots.

lamina about 8 mm. in diameter, tri­angular in cross-section, dwindling to 3mm. near apex, with sparse brown scales.Leaflets regular, 8-10 pairs, the lower 1or 2 pairs unicostate, the upper 3-5-cos­tate, subopposite, held horizontally, sepa­rated by 3-6 em.; leaflets slightly sig­moid, to 60 em. long, to 8 em. broad inthe middle part of the leaf, long-acumi­nate, slightly paler beneath than above,with scattered pale brown hairs andscales along the main ribs beneath, gla­brous above; terminal leaflets divergingfrom each other at an angle of 70°,acuminate, or bifid, or slightly dentate.

Inflorescence interfoliar, erect, 30-40em. long. Spathe single, dark brown orpurplish, hard, coriaceous or almostwoody, to 25 em. long by 4 em. wide atthe widest point, 2.5 em. wide at the

narrowest point, 10 em. from the base,covered in scurfy brown indumentum,especially at the margins. Spathe split­ting down one lateral edge for :xl-Va ofits length, and the inflorescence emerg­ing laterally through the split, spathelong-persisting through anthesis and thenrotting to leave fibrous vestiges at fruit­ing. Inflorescence with 3-5 branches allof the first order. Peduncle to 25 em.,elliptic in cross-section, 20 X 8 mm.when fresh, dark purplish-brown, cov­ered in sporadic, brown, branched hairs.Rachillae each subtended by a short,thick, stiff, triangular bract to 5 mm.long and 5 mm. broad at the base.

The lower 2-4 rachillae male, 10-12em. long by 5 mm. in diameter withoutthe flowers, the terminal rachilla to 10em. long by 8 mm. in diameter at thebase, male and female, or rarely maleonly, and then the entire inflorescencemale; lower 1-3 rachillae ca. 1-3 em.distant, the penultimate and terminalrachillae close; male rachillae bare offlowers in the lowermost 1-2 em., theapical rachilla with male and female inthe lower 3-4 em., and above this withmale flowers only. Inflorescence dimen­sions increasing markedly with age.Male flowers reaching anthesis beforethe females, grouped in pairs, each pairbeing subtended by a minute bract onthe rachilla, and each flower w~th aminute subtending bracteole; male flowergroups in 5-7 vertical rows, or tightspirals, if the latter, close-packing sotight as to give the impression of verticalrows; number of vertical rows decreas­ing above; where close-packing withneighbouring rachillae tight, single maleflowers from pairs aborting and remain­ing as blackened vestiges.

Male flowers cream, angular, oblong,to 5 mm. long by 3 mm. wide in bud.Sepals 3, apparently free, separated, mi­nute, triangular, to 0.5 mm. high. Petals

1975] DRANSFIELD: NEW NENGA 33

3, free, thinly coriaceous, oblong, planeor cucullate, if cucullate, then slightlyacute, petals variable in shape, markedwith impression of the stamens within.Stamens 6, filaments to 1 mm. long,anthers medifixed, to 2.5 mm. long by0.5 mm. wide, dehiscence latrorse, ovaryvestige absent. Pollen grains yellow,sphaerical, uniporate. At anthesis, maleflowers opening, pushing out betweenneighbouring buds, and then quicklyfalling, leaving the bare rachill ae, maleflower development being apparentlyacropetal.

Female flowers purplish, in triads, twolateral male flowers accompanying a cen­tral female, triads in 5-8 vertical rowsor vertical rows not prominent owing todistortion. Flower groups subtended byminute membranous bracts, each flowersubtended by a bracteole. Female flow­ers rounded, ca. 7 mm. long at anthesis.Sepals 3, free, valvate, somewhat cu­cullate, to 7 mm. long by 6 mm. wide atthe base, coriaceous, persistent, increas­ing in size after anthesis. Petals 3, free,valvate, coriaceous, long-persisting, to 6rom. long, increasing to 1 em. long afteranthesis. Staminodes 6, minute, triangu­lar, to 0.5 mm. high. Ovary sphaerical,to 4 mm. in diameter, with a beaklike,conical stigma, obscurely 3-lobed at theapex; locule 1, ovule laterally fixed,micropyle facing the receptacle.

Infructescence a clublike, penduloushead of fruit. Fruit to 8 cm. long by 2.5em. wide, fusiform, tipped with remainsof the stigmas; epicarp smooth, glabrous,dark purplish-brown; mesocarp to 4mm. thick, traversed by longitudinalfibres; endocarp smooth, shiny within.Seed fusiform 4.5 cm. long by 1.8 em.wide, attached along its length to theendocarp by a raphe 4 mm. wide at thebase and 1 mm. wide at the apex; testaca. 0.2 mm. thick; endosperm stronglyruminate, ruminations penetrating ca. 5

mm. inwards leaving a central column ofmore or less nonruminate endosperm;embryo conical, basal, to 4 mm. long by3 mm. wide. Seedling leaf bifid.

Habitat: hillslopes and streamsides inHill Dipterocarp Forest at 800 m. alti­tude, Kepahiang, Bengkulu, Sumatra.

Holotype: Dransfield 1234, 12.2.71.BO. (Isotypes in BH, K, L).

Other specimens examined: Biinne­meijer 295, 296, 417, 1013", April-June1971, N.E. slopes of G. Talakmau, Bukit­tinggi, West Sumatra (BO). Drans field3625, 27.8.73., from the type locality(BH, BO, K, L, SING).

Seedlings from Dransfield 1234, andDransfield 3267 cultivated in HortusBotanicus Bogoriensis.

The two most aberrant features of thispalm are the interfoliar inflorescence andthe structure of the male flowers. Inter­foliar inflorescences are unknown else­where in the small genus Nenga. Inprevious accounts of genera of the Are­coideae (cf. Scheffer (1873), Wendlandand Drude (1875), Beccari and Pichi­Sermolli (1955) inter alliis), this char­acter has been given considerable promi­nence in the separation of genera; forexample, Gigliolia is separated fromAreca by a few characters, one of whichis the position of the inflorescence. How­ever, interfoliar and infrafoliar inflores­cences are sometimes found within thesame genus, as in Pinanga (most specieswith infrafoliar inflorescences, a fewacaulescent species such as P. latisectaBlume with interfoliar inflorescences)and interfoliar inflorescences are usuallyassociated with tardily dehiscent or non­dehiscent leaf sheaths (and hence withno well-defined crownshaft) and/or theacaulescent habit. Furthermore, a Gig­liolia species from Bako National Park,Sarawak, reported by Moore (1965), hasinfrafoliar inflorescences, otherwise he­ing very similar to G. insignis with the

34 PRINCIPES [Vol. 19

interfoliar inflorescences more usual inthe genus, and an as yet undescribedAreca from Sumatra shows tendenciesto the interfoliar state. In this last spe­cies, collected by me in North Sumatrain 1973 and by W. Meijer (Meijer 6888)in West Sumatra, the leaves are tardilydehiscent and tend to mummify on theplant before dropping off, and the in­florescences burst through the rottingleaf sheaths at anthesis. As yet, materialof this species is incomplete so cannotbe described.

In Nenga gajah leaf sheaths do notdehisce but rot on the stem, and there­fore, by necessity, the inflorescences areinterfoliar and erect at anthesis. Associ­ated with the interfoliar state is theanomalous, almost woody spathe whichapparently serves as a longer-lasting pro­tection to the inflorescence than do thethin spathes of other Nenga species; insuch species, up till leaf abscission, theinflorescence is protected by the leafsheath, which, when it falls, releases theinflorescence, the latter normally quicklyentering the state of anthesis.

In the male flowers of Nenga gajah,the calyx is much shorter than thecorolla. In N. pumila and its allies (N.intermedia, N. schefferana) the calyxlobes are long-acuminate and longer thanthe corolla lobes. In N. macrocarpa thesepals are slightly shorter than or equalto the petals and are obtuse and rounded.This series may only represent a gradein calyx lengths despite the apparentanomaly of N. gajah.

Why then should the Sumatran palmbe included in the genus Nenga? Theinflorescence with probably spirally ar­ranged flower groups, the proximal por­tions bearing triads, and the distal por­tions being entirely male agrees wellwith Nenga; similarly the parietal pla­centation of the ovule would rule outAreca and strongly suggests its being

Nenga. In the ripe fruit of Nenga pumilaand its allies, the fibres of the endocarpare free at both ends when the mesocarphas eroded away; it is not known whetherthe fruit of N. macrocarpa behaves simi­larly, but certainly N. gajah is dissimilarin this respect. If interfoliar and infra­foliar inflorescences can be found in oneclosely related genus (Pinanga) then itshould not theoretically be unacceptablefor the same state to occur in Nenga.

The aberrant nature of Neng~ gajahdoes draw attention to unresolved inter­generic taxonomic problems in the Arecaalliance of the Arecoideae (Moore 1973).It requires much more research to clarifysuch problems; I consider it worthwhileto draw attention to these fascinatingproblems by publishing the descriptionof this species.

Little is known of the natural historyof this palm. In the Bengkulu area it islocally abundant above 800 m. altitudeon hillslopes and in valley bottoms-Iknow nothing of the upper altitudinallimit of the palm as the hills near Kepa­hiang where it grows do not exceed 950m. It is apparently absent from largeareas of the Bukit Barisan where I havehunted palms. The collections from nearBukittinggi suggest it has a very disjunctdistribution. Inflorescences at male andfemale anthesis smell similarly-a pene­trating, musty, sickly-sweet smell remi­niscent of the smell of the flowers ofPinanga kuhlii-and are visited by smallnitidulid beetles and trigonid bees. Im­mature fruit were often found chewed,and fruits in which the mesocarp hadbeen entirely removed, were found scat­tered on the forest floor at some distancefrom the mature plants. What animal isresponsible for such dispersal is notknown, but it is suspected that squirrelsor other rodents may be the vectors.

In August, 1973, I had the opportunityto return to the Bengkulu area and was

1975] NEWS OF THE SOCIETY 35

able to recollect "pinang gajah" and todistribute a limited number of ripe seedsto the Seed Bank of The Palm Societyunder the collector's number Dransfield3627. It is hoped that this weird, aber­rant, but hardly beautiful Nenga can beintroduced into palm collections.

AcknowledgmentsI should like to thank Pak Matsa'a of

the Department of Nature Conservation,Kepahiang, Bengkulu for assistance inthe field. Sdr. Damhuri, artist of theHerbarium Bogoriense, prepared theanalytical drawings.

NEWS OF THE SOCIETY

Back Issues of Principes

The Board of Directors voted at theBiennial Meeting to charge $1.50 perissue for back numbers of Principes stillin stock (Vol. 3, No. 3 onward).

The 11 issues of Vol. 1, No. 1 throughVol. 3, No.2 (Vol. 1 has five issues) areto be reprinted if enough orders are re­ceived. Each issue will cost $2.50 or atotal of $27.50 for all 11 issues, includ­ing postage and handling.

Orders for these early issues must beaccompanied by full payment. If all 11issues are ordered by March 31, 1975, aprepublication discount of 10% may bededucted from the order. The discountdoes not apply on less than the 11 issues,or if the reprints are ordered after theabove date.

Chapter Notes

A Special Meeting of the WesternChapter of the Palm Society was heldSeptember 21, 1974 at 10:30 a.m. to3:30 p.m. at the Huntington BotanicalGardens in San Marino, California. Itturned out to be a beautiful day and ap­prOXimately 90 members attended themeeting. Before partaking of a catered

Lrn;RATURf; CITED

BECCAlll, O. AND R. E. G. PICIlI-SEHMOLJ.I.1955. Subfamiliae Arecoidearum PalmaeGerontogeae. Webbia 11: 1-187.

FURTADO, C. X. 1933. The limits of thegenus Areca L. and its sections. Repert.Spec. Nov. Regni Veg..)3: 217-239.

MOlHlE, H. E., .III. 1%5. Palm huntingaround the world II. Malaya and Sarawak.Principes 9: 103-117.

--. 1973. The major groups of palmsand their distribution. Gentes Herb. 11(2): 27-140.

SCHEFFER, R. H. C. C. 1873. Sur quelquespalmiers du groupe des Arecinees. Na·tuurk. Tijdschr. Ned.·lndic 32: 149-193.

WENDLAND, H. AND O. DIIUDE. 1875. PalmaeAustrala~icae. Linnaea 39(5): 155-238.

lunch, three tours of the palm gardenswere conducted by Myron Kimnach,newly elected Vice-President of the soci­ety, Fred Boutin and Bud Hallberg.They showed the many old specimenpalms along with some of the new onesplanted within the last few years. .

After lunch in one of the meetIngrooms, Fred Boutin and Myron Kimnachtook turns telling about and showingslides of a recent trip they had taken toMexico to hunt the native braheas andcollect seeds. Following this was a plantauction to which the Huntington Gardenand some of the members had donatedplants. The interest of the members isevinced by the fact that a 2-in. pot ofWallichia disticha with two tiny leaveswent for $25 and a purple crown-shaftedPinanga in a 3-in. pot sold for $10.Everyone evidently came with moneyand was ready to bid, so it turned out tobe a very successful money-raising event.

During the business meeting chairmanLee Phelps resigned and Ralph Velez, aschoolteacher from Westminster, waselected new Chairman. He is a long-timemember and in his small yard has one ofthe best collections of palms in Califor­nia for so small an area. The group is