19991 LUDW.IG:NOTES ON THE PALMSOF , COMORO ISLANDS, INDIAN OCEAN

Palms, 43(3), 1999, pp. 149-151 Noteson the Palmsof Mayotte, Comorolslands, Indian Ocean

Nrcoro Lulwrc B.P 10,97429 Petite-lle,La Rdunion,

In October 1998 when I left Reunion for a 10 not part of the Republic of the Comores,even day trip to Mayotte,I thought of listing the palms though geographically it is part of the Comoro to be found on this island for my friends of Archipelago. Palmeraie-Unionwhich is a rather newly estab- I recordedthe following palms: lished associationof palm enthusiasts. Therefore,I checked in Palms of Madagascar Arecacatechu (Dransfield and Beentje 1995) the endemic Bismarchianobilis species of north-west Madagascarand Grande Borass u s samb iranen s i s Comorethat might occur in Mayotte.Mayotte is a Caryotamitis French overseasCommunaut6 Territoriale. and Cocosnucifera

l- Borassu sambiranensisat Sazil6.2. Dvosishumblotiana at Sohoa. I50 PALMS [Vor.43

3. A close-upview ofthe stemofDypsis humblotiana, Sohoa; 4. Last year's dead inflorescence of Dypsishumblotiana, stemdiameter is about lB cm. Sohoa.

Corypha utan ones and seedlings under the female trees. When "$6h66 Dypsis humblotiana-1hs pslm" falling, some fruits roll down embankments and D. lanceolo,ta germinate in gravel on the roadside. I have seen D. lutescens a few other old trees on the Sazil6 Peninsula, in- D. madagascariensis cluding one with a trunk base damaged by fire. It Hyophorbe lagenicaulis is oossible thar B. sambiranensis was introduced Hyphaene coriacea ba Sakalava settlers who migrated from north Liuistona, chinensis Madagascarto Mayotte a few centuries ago. Phoenix reclinata, Cocos nucifero, the coconut, is very abundant Raphiafarini,fera in the lowlands and is widely used for food, Roystonea oleracea woven fences, baskets and as building material. The second most abundant palm in Mayotte is Among these species, Caryota mitis, Corypha Phoenix reclinata, that occurs in rather dry lo- utan, Dypsis lutescens, D. madagascariensis, calities. Hyophorb e la,genicaulis, Liaistona chinensis and In the Majimbini rain forest reservation; I Roystonea oleracea occur as ornamental palms in recorded Dypsis lanceolata above 500 m eleva- some private gardens, public parks and squares tion. I did not see any inflorescences or in- in and . fructescences, but found quite a large number of Areca catechu seems to be naturalized on the seedlings under the mature trees. This species west coast with a small population along the could also occur in the forest at Mont Benara. stream near Soulou Waterfall. Bismarckia nobilis On one day I had an appointment with Alain "palmier is locally known as de Koungou" as it is Pibot from Service de l'Environnement et de la quite abundant in the Koungou area in the north For6t and we visited Sohoa Forest Reservation coast. However, I saw two other specimens at where we found a few specimens of a palm, scat- Ngouja in the gardens of the Jardin Mahorais tered from 160-210 m elevation. This is a single- hotel. stemmed palm with trunks B-10 m tall (Figs. 2, Concerning Borassus sarnbiranensls, there is a 3, 4), with keeled leaf rachises and leaflets with small population at Sazil6 Pass (Fig. 1) between bifid tips, glossy green on the upper surface and the villages of Moutsamoudou and Dapani. It dull green beneath, the leaflet margins thick- consists of several old specimens, some young ened. We thought it could be the very poorly r9991 LUDWIG:NOTES ON THE PALMSOF MAYOTTE, COMORO ISLANDS, INDIAN OCEAN l5l known Dypsishumblotiana. I have sent a leaflet I did not stay long enough in Mayotte to visit and photographsto John Dransfield and Henk Mont Benara forest and look for Raueneahilde- Beentje at the Royal Botanic GardensKew, and brandtii which might occur in that area.This will they agree that this may well be the elusive hare to \ryaitfor anothervisil species, known previously only from a single herbariumspecimen. LtrpRerunn Crrnr Among other species,Hyphaene coriacea oc- Dn,rusrrnr.l,J. er.rnH. J. BnrnrJn. 1995. The Palms of Mada- curs in small populationsnear Chironguipass, gascar.The Royal Botanic CardensKew and the Inter- and. on Petite Terre.at Dziani Dzahacrater lake. national Palm Society.

PaLns,43(3),1999, pp. 151-152 sustained harvest of forest resources, rather than LITERATURE periodic timber cutting or the conversion of PALM forests to plantation monocultures. Following a general introduction, Chapter 2 contrasts in de- NoN-TrnnsnnFonusr PRolucrs oF EASrKALr- tail systematic and ecological measures the MANTAN-POTENTIALS FOR SUSTAINABLEFOR- three study sites reported on, each of which en- ESrUsE. By J. L. C. H. van Valkenburg.X - compasses primary forest of a somewhat differ- 202 pp,6 appendices,23figures, 14 color ent character. One site also includes logged illus. TropenbosSeries 16, ISSN 1383- areas. Chapter 3 summarizes NTFP available in 6811. BackhuysPublishers, Leiden, The those sites. While comprehensive in its coverage Netherlands.1997. Paperbound, ISBN 90- of primary forest and logged portions of the study 5113-030-9. 76,00 NLG (approximately sites, the exclusions of secondary forest bam- $40). boos and medicinal plants does leave a gap in as- sessing the full forest management potential of Humankind is challengedto harmonizethe the region. Chapter 4 deals with edible fruits and needs and aspirations of a growing population nuts with actual and potential use as forest and with ecological imperatives. Nowhere is the home garden products. Market determinants, in- challenge more daunting than in the world's cluding access,ethnic preference, and seasonal- tropical forests.One proposedalternative to for- ity and periodicity of fruiting are considered. est degradationand loss is found in the sustain- While no oalms enter this discussion a number able extraction of non-timber forest products of familiai names appear, including the durians (NTFP), an approachthat would leave basic for- (Durio), the breadfruits and jackfruits (Artocar- est structure intact, preserve indigenous cul- pzs) and rambutans (lYephelium). tures,and providean ongoinglivelihood to local The rattans constitute Chapters 5 and 6. The and regionalinhabitants. Since palms, in their former considers species richness and abun- variety of habits and ubiquitous distribution pro- dance of these remarkable lianas. Dominant vide a rich store of NTFP,ranging from building genera, in species numbers, are Cttlamus, Dae- and craft materialsto fruits, starch, and sugar,it monorops, and Korthalsia, bfi with Cercttolobus, is not surprisingthat they are major components Plectocomia, and Plectocomiopsis also repre- of many ongoing and proposed extractive pro- sented. This inventory is not a mere taxonomic grams.This volume,lYon-Timber Forest Products listing, but rather a richly detailed presentation of East Kalimantan, gives palms no less atten- of rattan dynamics in natural and human-influ- tion, for two of its seven principal chapters are enced primary and logged forests. Chapter 6 devotedto rattans, and they otherwiseenter the considers rattan trade in a broad f61u111-411s1r- discussionas critical elementsin assessingthe tion being given to rattan quality, processing, potential of NTFP. economic value under different conditions, and Despiteits focuson EastKalimantan, this vol- role in contrasting social situations. ume servesas a generalprimer to the underlying Using a number of different comparative mea- conceptsand issuesof forestutilization. It pro- sures, including those economic, the closing vides economicand ecologicalarguments for the chapter is a reasoned discussion of the potential