Licuala pumila (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Licuala pumila Blume

Family: Palmae

Licuala elegans Blume.

• Indonesia: seredik itam (Lampung), sadang upul (Palembang), wiru leutik (Sundanese).

Indonesia (Sumatra, western Java).

The young unfolded leaves used to be used to wrap cigarettes. For this, the young shoots were carefully opened, left hanging up outdoors for 2 nights and then smoothed out. Fine strips of the young leaves were also sometimes mixed with opium, probably to add bulk, but perhaps also to improve combustion. Older leaves are used for thatching roofs and to make hats.

A pleonanthic, small, usually multi-stemmed palm; stems up to 120 cm tall and 15 cm in diameter. Leaves palmate; sheath fibrous; petiole variably spiny in the lower half, usually longer than the blade; blade forming 2/3 of a circle, deeply incised into 8-12(-22), 2-3(-5)-veined segments, larger segments 25-35 cm long. Inflorescence interfoliar, simply branched, spiciform, 40-50 cm long; peduncle with a tubular prophyll and several tubular peduncular bracts; flowers bisexual, sessile; calyx connate, 3-fid, glabrous; corolla deeply 3-fid, slightly longer than the calyx, 4.5-5 mm long; stamens 6, filaments connate to form a 6-lobed tube; pistil 3-carpellate, glabrous, united distally to form a single exserted style. Fruit a globose to broadly ellipsoid drupe, 9-10 mm long, with the remains of the style at the apex. L. pumila is found along river banks and in ravines, up to 250 m altitude. It is categorized as a rare species.

6, 30, 48, 68.

M.S.M. Sosef