EDIT

<taxonx xmlns:dc="http://digir.net/schema/conceptual/darwin/core/2.0" xmlns:mods="http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">

<taxonxHeader>

		<mods:mods>

		<mods:titleInfo><mods:title>The Palms of Madagascar</mods:title></mods:titleInfo>

<mods:name>

<mods:namePart type="family">Dransfield</mods:namePart>

<mods:namePart type="given">J.</mods:namePart>

<mods:namePart type="family">Beentje</mods:namePart>

<mods:namePart type="given">H.</mods:namePart>

</mods:name>

		<mods:originInfo>

			<mods:dateIssued>1995</mods:dateIssued>

			<mods:publisher>Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and The International Palm Society</mods:publisher>

		</mods:originInfo>

		</mods:mods>

</taxonxHeader>

<taxonxBody>

<treatment rank="species">

<nomenclature>

<name>Orania ravaka</name>

<author>Beentje</author>

<citation>in J.Dransfield &amp; H.Beentje, Palms of Madagascar: 119 (1995)</citation>

<type>Madagascar, Sahavary; Dransfield et al.; JD6401</type>

<type_loc>Holotypus K; isotypi P, TAN</type_loc>

</nomenclature>

<div type="introduction"><p>The name &amp;lsquo;ravaka&amp;rsquo; is the Malagasy for ornament, jewel; this is a particularly elegant tree, rather like O. trispatha, but with a more slender trunk.</p></div>

<div type="etymology"><p></p></div>

<div type="vernacular"><p>Sindro (Betsimisaraka); Vapakafotsy (Tsimihety).</p></div>

<div type="diagnosis"><p>Palma disticha foliolis ramentas castaneas infra ferentis a ceteris speciebus Madagascariensibus inflorescentia in 2 ordines ramificanti et a O. trispatha foliolis paucioribus minoribus et inflorescentia longiore graciliore differt.</p></div>

<div type="description"><p>Solitary palm. TRUNK 10-15 m tall, 9-20 cm diam.; diameter just below crown &amp;lt; 10 cm; internodes 2.5-5 cm long, pale brown or grey-brown; nodal scars obscure; basal boss c. 35 cm diam., with surface roots. LEAVES 6-8 in the crown, distichous; sheath open, 35 cm long, with marginal fibres; apparent petiole 30 cm long, channelled; sheath  Orania trispatha. A distal part of petiole and basal leaflets x 1/3; B mid section of leaf x 1/3; C leaf tip x 1/3; D first order branch of inflorescence x 1/4; E fruit x 1/2; F endocarp x 1/2; G seed in section x 1/2. All from Beentje 4522. Drawn by Rosemary Wise. and apparent petiole combined 65-94 cm long, with patches of dense red-brown or grey scales and wax, distally c. 1.3 x 0.9-1 cm diam.; rachis 1.2-1.8 m long, in mid-leaf 1-2 cm wide, densely scaly, with scattered scales or glabrous; leaflets 33-44 on each side of the rachis, regular, stiff, those on opposite sides of the rachis at an angle of c. 90 with each other, strongly discolorous and much paler abaxially, the proximal 36-87 x 0.4-2.4 cm, the median 47-77.5 x 2.5-4.8 cm (interval 3.5-4.5 cm), the distal 18-45 x 0.4-2.8 cm, distal pair hardly connate, apices obliquely praemorse, main veins 3-5, midrib (and occasionally on other major veins as well) with large red-brown ramenta to 15 mm, with scattered red small scales, with visible sinuous transverse veinlets. INFLORESCENCE interfoliar, branching to 2 orders, spreading, protandrous; peduncle curved, 42-60 cm long, distally 12-18 x 5-12 mm diam., rusty-tomentose; prophyll borne 2.5-13 cm above the base of the peduncle, 16-32 cm long, 3.5-6 cm wide, with patches of red-brown scales; peduncular bract(s) one or two (in the same population), deciduous, inserted at 6.5-14 cm and 16 cm from the base of the peduncle, 43-63.5 cm long, 7-9 cm diam., inflated, beaked; rachis with c. 13 first order branches, these proximally to 17 x 8 mm diam.; rachillae cream at anthesis, 7-40 cm long, 2-4 mm diam., zigzag, with rusty scales; triads distant. STAMINATE FLOWERS cream, not scented; sepals 1.5-2.4 x 2.2-2.8 mm; petals 8-13 x 4-6 mm; stamens 22-27, the filaments 0.7-2.5 mm (connate for up to 0.5 mm) with a bulbous base to 1 mm diam., anthers basifixed, slightly sagittate, equal or slightly unequal, 6.3-7.6 x 1.2-1.3 mm; pistillode not seen. PISTILLATE FLOWERS greenish, with sepals 1-4.5 x 4-5.5 mm; petals 10-15 x 9-11 mm; staminodes 9-12, thread-like; ovary globose, 10-11 mm diam., with c. 1 mm long papillose stigmas. FRUIT yellow or pale brown, slightly obovoid or globose, 4-6 cm diam., with sub-basal stigmatic remains. SEED depressed globose, 2.5-3.8 cm high, 3.2-4.2 cm diam., with fibrous surface; endosperm homogeneous; cotyledonary stalk up to 50 cm long and 6 mm diam.</p></div>

<div type="distribution"><p>NE Madagascar.</p></div>

<div type="biology_ecology"><p>Lowland rain forest; ridge crests and valley bottoms; 200-550 m.</p></div>

<div type="conservation"><p>Vulnerable. Known only from three sites, but with fairly large population numbers, though outside the protected area; total number estimated at 500.</p></div>

<div type="uses"><p>Not recorded.</p></div>

<div type="discussion"><p>Differs from the other Madagascar species in the inflorescence branched to 2 orders, and from the other distichous species by the fewer leaflets which are smaller (with red-brown rather than grey ramenta), and the longer, more slender inflorescence.</p></div>

<div type="materials_examined"><p>Maroantsetra: Hiaraka, Oct. 1986 (fl.), Dransfield et al. JD6376 (K, P, TAN); Sahavary, Oct. 1986 (fl., fr.), Dransfield et al. JD6401 (Holotype K; isotypes P, TAN); idem, Feb. 1988 (y.fr.), Dransfield et al. JD6458 (K, TAN); idem, April 1989 (fr.), Du Puy &amp;amp; Du Puy MB 161 (K, TAN). Mananara Avaratra: Antanambe, Oct. 1991 (fl., fr.), Beentje &amp;amp; Andriampaniry 4466 (BH, K, MO, P, TAN).</p></div>

</treatment>

</taxonxBody>

</taxonx>