134 PRINCIPES [Vor. 34

Principes,34(3), 1990, pp. 134-I42

ConservationStatus of Haitian Palms

Auonnw HTNoERSoN,Mrcnnr AusRy, Joiir TruyeN, AND MTcHAELBALTcK

New York , Bronx, NY 10458; Ife Hotel, 35 Rue Gregoire, PEtion-uille, ; International Resources Group, Ltd., 52 Rue E. Mangones, Berthe, P4tion-uille, Haiti; and New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY tO458

ABSTRACT Morne La Visite. Unfortunately few palms occur in these parks. Many of the non- The conservationstatus of the l3 genera and 21- 24 species of palms occurring naturally in Haiti is endemic Haitian palms are in cultivation given. Notes on distribution, uses,and common names in Fairchild Tropical Garden and else- are also given. Current conservation efforts are where, but very few of these cultivated reported. palms are of Haitian origin. R6sum6 In I9BB we begana program aimed at the conservation of the rarer species of L'6tat de conservationde 13 eenres et 2l-24 palms in Haiti. Here we report on the espdcesde palmesqui grandissenrnaturellement en conservation status of all Haitian Haiti est donn6e. Des notes sur leur distribution, palms, usages et noms communs sont aussi donn6es. Des as well as on our efforts to conserve the efforts actuels de conservation sont fournis. rarer species. R6zim6 Methods Stati sou konservasion13 genusak 2l-24 espds palm ki pous,6an Ayiti yo, bay isit. Not sou distribision The followingaccount is basedon four yo nan peyia, sa yo f6 av6 yo ak non yo bays yo field trips to Haiti which took place between nan pou proteksion chak zone. Ef6 nou mennen kek November palm. I9B8 and December 1989. During these trips we have mapped pop- ulationsof rarer palms,either on I :50,000 Sinceits discoveryby Columbus:rr'1492 or I:100,000 scale maps. We have the natural environment of Haiti has suf- counted numbers of individuals in rarer fered almost complete destruction. Today populations. We have interviewed local approximately 27o or less of the original people and collected information on uses forest cover remains (Davis et al. 1986, and local names, in both French and Cre- Paryski and Woods l9B9). ole. We have made herbarium specimens Thirteen genera and between 2l and of most species,and studied Haitian spec- 24 speciesof palmsoccur naturally in Haiti, imens in the herbaria in Port-au-Prince and up to one quarter of these speciesmay (EHH) and New York (NY), and have be endemic to the country. Because of reviewedthe relevant literature. The most environmental destruction many of them recent treatment of the palms of Haiti is' are rare, and the endemic species face that of Barker and Dardeau(1930). extinction. In order to conservepopulations of rarer Two national parks exist in Haiti (Judd palms we have produced a management 1987, Paryski and Woods i9B9); Parc plan for palm conservationin Haiti, based National Pic Macaya and Parc National on crassispatha.We have begun ree0l HENDERSONET AL.: HAITIAN PALMS 135

to carry out someof the recommendations Bactris of the plan, particularly with A. crassispa- A large genus tha and P seudophoenix led,iniana. These with approximately B0 species are discussedbelow. occurring throughout the neotrop- ics. One, Bactris plumeriana Mart. (Fig. 3), occurs in Haiti, and throughout the Acrocomia . W'e have seen scattered indi- viduals This genus is now consideredto consist throughout the country in wetter of just two species, one of which, Acro- areas. This species is not used for any (Jacq.) purposebecause of its spines.Its common comia aculeata Lodd. ex Mart., is "coco name in Haiti is spelled macaque" widely distributed from Mexico to Para- 'okoko "ti guay. We have only encountered this in French and makak" or cro- speciesonce in Haiti, near Beaumont (Fig. cro" in Creole. I ) on the Massif de la Hotte, but there are records and specimensto indicate that it Calyptronoma was once widely distribrited, for example A genusof three speciesconfined to the on the Ile de la Tortue. Approximately l0 . The genus is still in need exist at the locality near Beaumont, of study, despite a relatively recent revi- but local people say that the palms were sion(W'essels Boer l968). Two speciesare planted. They do not use the palms for reportedto occur in ,C. dulcis anything, except for children who eat the (Wright ex Griseb.) Bailey and C. riualis seeds.The common name of this palm in "coco (Cook) Bailey. Apparently only C. riualis Haiti is spelled guin6e" or oocorosse" o'koko occurs in Haiti. We have seen one very in French, and ginen" "kawos" or small population consisting of approxi- in Creole. mately 30 adult plants near Saut d'Eau (Fig. ). The young, unexpanded, Attalea are used for weaving and the older leaves are used for thatch. This palm occurs in One species, very wet ground, either at the edges of (Mart.) Burret, is endemic (Hen- to Haiti streams or in marshy areas. It is known derson and Aubry 'opalma." 1989). A total of 26 locallyas Dransfieldet al. (1988) individual trees of this specieshave now list this speciesas vulnerable. been located. All trees are in the southern peninsula, and most are either near Fond des Negres or Cavaillon (Fig. 2). During 1989 six trees fruited, and in August we A very poorly known genus with up to collectedapproximately 500 seeds.These 49 describedspecies, 34 of them from were distributed to two nurseries in Haiti, Cuba (Uhl and Dransfield I9B7). Bailev and the rest were distributed to various (1939b) reportedthat 6 specie,o"".rr."i Botanical Gardensthrough Fairchild Trop- in Haiti; Coccothrinaxargentea, (Lodd. ex ical Garden in Florida, and to other Schult.)Sarg. ex Becc., C. concolor Bur- researchers. Seedshave now germinated ret, C. eltrnaniiBurret, C. gracilis Burret, both in Haiti and in Florida. C. montana Burret, and C. spisso Bailey, The common name of this palm in Haiti A seventhspecies, C. scoparia Becc. also ooc6rossi6" "petit is spelled or coco" in occurs there. "kawosie" "ti French and or koko" in is very variable Creole. Dransfieldet al. (1988) list this and occurs throughout the country in a speciesas endangered(note that Dransfield great variety of habitats, but always on et al. list this speciesunder Orbignya sp.). calcareoussoil and on mountain slopes.It 34 r36 PRINCIPES lvor.

Attalea crassispatha near cavaillon' The L. Acrocomia aculeata near Beaumont, Massif de la Hotte. 2. by a woodpecker, Sphyrapicus^oarius' 3' Bactris plumeriana near tol"tit th" peduncular' are made Cavaillon. 4' Calyptronoma riaalis near Saut d'Eau' r990l HENDERSONET AL.: HAITIAN PALMS t37

is very common in parts of the southern the population was recently destroyed. peninsula(Fig. 5) up to elevationsof I , 100 Other small populations occur near Go- m where rainfall is near 2,000 mm per nai'ves.The greatestnumber of individuals year. Converselyit also occurs in very arid we have seenoccur betweenLa Jeune and areas, for example near Gonaives, where Pignon in the Dep. du Centre (Fig. 6). rainfall is near 600 mm per year. Further Coperniciaberteroana occurs on flat land, study of this speciesmay reveal that sev- often on saline soils, where rainfall is eral speciesor sub-speciesactually exist. between600 and I,000 mm per year. It "dyar6," The leavesof C. argenteo are very widely is locally known near La Jeuneas used to weave hats, saddles, and make and the leaves are used for thatchine. brooms and other articles. The common The secondspecies, Copernicia ekianii name of this palm in Haiti is spelled Burret is endemic to Haiti. It is very dif- "gouane, latanier sayanne, latanier mar- ferent from C. berteronanobecause of its ron, latanier bourique, palme coyau" in bluish leaveswhich have a waxy coating. "gwenn, French, and latanye savann, This speciesis reported to occur on the latanye maron, Iatanyebourik, palm koyo" northern coast of Haiti, between Port-de- in Creole. Paix and M6le St. Nicolas,on rocky shores There are two other distinct speciesof near the sea.This regionreceives between Coccothrinax in Haiti, neither of which 600 and 1,000 mm of rain per year. We we haveseen despite searching. Coccothri- have seen only one of this species, nax ekmanii is reportedby Bailey (1947) near Guinaud6e,Dep. du Nord Ouest,and to occur in extreme southeastern Haiti, this was apparently cultivated. The palm "homme near Anse-i-Pitres, where it is called is locally known as de paille" or "gwenn" "jambe "om "gouane" (French) or (Creole). de paille" (French), and de "jamm It doesoccur over the border in adjacent pay" or de pay" (Creole). The areas of the . Coc- Ieaves are reported to be a very durable cothrinax spissa is reported by Bailey and soughtalter thatch. (I939b) to occur in Haiti. The two other specieslisted by Bailey Geonoma (1947) for Haiti (Coccothrinax concolor Anotherlarge neotropical genus, occur- and C. gracilis) are probably synonyms ring throughout Central and South Amer- of C. argentea.Coccothrinax cf . rnonta,na ica, Geonoma oxyc(rrpa Mart. has an is reported by Judd (1987) to occur in unusual distribution. It occurs in Central Parc NationalPic Macaya. RogerSanders America from Mexico to Colombia, and (pers. comm.) believesthis palm may be also in Haiti. We have seen this species C. scoparia. Barker and Dardeau(1930) "latanier only in one tiny locality at 900 m elevation give balai" as the common name where a few seedlings exist in a shady of this species. gully, in the Massif de la Hotte (Fig. 7). "palm." Locally it is called It must have Copernicia had a much wider distribution in the past, becausethe type locality is near Port-de- This genus contains approximately 25 Paix, in the north of the country. species,three of which occur in .20 in Cuba.and two are endemic Prestoea to Hispaniola (Dahlgren and Glassman 1963). This genusof about 12 speciesoccurs Becc. is quite mainly in mountainous areas in Central widespreadbut occursin small in Andes of Amer- 'We populations. America and the South have seenit near Port-au-Prince.where ica as far south as Bolivia. There is one PRINCIPES [Vor. 34

5. Coccothrinax argentea in the southern peninsula. 6. Copernicia berteroana near La Jeune. 7. Geonoma oxycarpa, Massif de la Hotte. 8. Prestoia tnontana, Massif de la Hotte. r9901 HENDERSONET AL.: HAITIAN PALMS 139

speciesin the Caribbean,Prestoe(r nton- quite widespread in Haiti, but now only tana (Graham) Nicholson. It is a cloud two viable populations remain. One is forest species,often occurring in great between Poteau and Passe Reine in the numbers,for examplein Puerto Rico (Hen- Dep. de I'Artibonite, and the secondis near derson 1984). In Haiti very few scattered Source Matelas (Fig. I0) in the Dep. de individualsexist in clearedareas, especially l'Ouest. In other areaswe have observed in the Massif de la Selle (Fig. B) and in very few juveniles in localitieswhere adults the Massif de Ia Hotte, in areas between have been cut down. Near Thomazeatt rt "kati6" 1.000 m and 2.000 m elevationand with is known as (Creole),and the leaves 2,000 mm rainfall per year. Judd (1987) are occasionallyused for thatching and the reported that this species occurs in both fruits eaten. Read (1968) reported that national parks in Haiti. It is locally known the practice of making wine from this oopalme as i vin" (French),and the leaves specieshas died out in Haiti. are used for thatching. A second pinnate-leafedpalm occurs Roystonea voilhPrestoea montana near Beaumont in This Caribbean genus is much in need the Massif de la Hotte, and its identity is of revision. Bailey (1949) recognized12 unknown. Local peoplecall it "chapelet" species,but there seemto be fewer.There and insist that it is different from the Pres- is a very common speciesin Haiti which toea ("they are brothers, but they are dif- we are calling RoTstonea hispaniolana ferent"). Bailey. It is very abundant throughout the country, and seemsto be one of the few Pseudophoenix palmsthat can regeneratewell in disturbed areas. It is universally known as "pal- A Caribbean genus of four species,all "palmier miste" or royale" (French) or of which occur in Hispaniola(Read l968). "palmis" (Creole).It is especiallyabundant In Haiti these palms occur in very arid on the Central Plateau in the Dep. du areason steephillsides, often on west-fac- Centre.At one time thereit wasan impor- ing slopes. tant source of food. It is still an impor- Pseudophoenix lediniana Read is tant tree as a source of pollen for honev endemic to Haiti, and occurs in a small bees.It is also very commonly used as a area in the Dep. de I'Ouest (Fig. 9). This grain store. A hole is made through the area, the type locality, contains a small swollen part of the stem several meters but reproductive population of about 30 from the ground, and then corn is attached trees. During 1989 we collected several to either end of a stick stuck through the hundredseeds from one tree. Theseseeds hole. Rodents cannot climb the palm stem were planted in a nursery in Haiti, where to reach the corn. many have germinated, and seeds were also sent to Fairchild Tropical Garden wherethey have alsogerminated. This palm "pal" "ti is known locally as or palmis A genus of I 5 species occurring maron" (Creole).It is not usedto any great throughout the Caribbean and adjacent extent but obviously has great potential as countries(Zona 1990). Two speciesare an ornamental. apparentlypresent in Haiti. Pseudophoenixsargentii H. A. Wendl. Sabal domingensisBecc. is endemicto ex Sarg. is reported from the island of La Hispaniola, and is extremely abundant in Gonave,bul we have not seenit. the Dep. du Nord Ouest(Fig. 11). It is "paille" "latanier Pseudophoenixuinifera (Mart.) Becc. locally known as or cha- is endemicto Hispaniola.It was apparently peau'o (French) and "pay" or "latanye I40 PRINCIPES lVoL. 34

.:{ -al? i;' X*

g. Pseud,ophoenixlediniana, Dep. de l'Ouest. 10. Pseudophoenixuinifera near Source Matelas. I l. Sabal iomingensis, Dep. du Nord Ouest. 12. Stem oI antillarum, near St. Michel du Sud. r99ol HENDERSONET AL.: HAITIAN PALMS I4l chapo" in Creole.The leavesare heavily Republic,where Zanoni (in JohnsonI986) used for thatching and making hats, considersit may be endemic to serpentine brooms, and saddles. Almost every indi' soils. This is a very ornamental palm. vidual Sa6al in this region has had its Ieaves cut and removed. Presumably Acknowledgments increasingpressure on the palms will even- tually lead to their demise. Dr. Dennis Johnson initiated our study The secondspecies, Sabal causiarurn of Attalea crassispatha,and our first trip (Cook) Bailey is common in the south- was funded by World Wildlife Fund-U.S. "latanier westernpeninsula. It is known as (WWf 3322). Subsequent funding was "latanier franc" or jaune" (French) and provided by US Agency for International "latanye "latanye fran'o or jone" (Creole), Development through International and again its leaves are widely used. This ResourcesGroup, Ltd. We are grateful to species also occurs in the Dominican numerousHaitian peoplefor their unfailing Republicand PuertoRico. Sabal haitensis helpfulnessin our search for palms. Roger Becc. is a synonymof S. causiarum. Sandersand Chuck Hubbuch of Fairchild TropicalGarden and ScottZona of Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden reviewed the manuscript, and Fritz Vaval and Louis A genus of seven species (Uhl and Verret assistedus in the field. Dransfield 1987) occurring throughout the Caribbean. Two species are reported to LrrsRerunn Crrsl occur in Haiti (Read L975). Thrinax mor- risiiH. A. Wendl. occurson the islandof BAILEY,L. H. 1939a. New Haitian genusof palms. Navassa,and ?1 rad'iata Lodd. ex J. A. Gentes Herb. 4: 239-246. & J. H. Schult. on the island of Gonave 1939b. Coccothrinax in the southern Greater Antilles.Gentes Herb. 4:247-259. and near Roseaux.We did not encounter 1947. The Gouane palm of Haiti. Contr. the latter species on a visit to Roseaux, Gray Herb. 165: 5-9. and both speciesmust be consideredrare I949. Palmsuncertain and new. Gentes in Haiti. However. the two speciesare Herb. B: 92-205. 1930. Flore widespread elsewhere in the Caribbean BARKER,H. D. e.noW. S. Danoreu. d'Haili. Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (Read1975). Denrcnrrq, B. E. aNn S. F. Cr.rssneN. 1963. A revision of the gents Copernicia. 2. West Indian Zombia soecies.Gentes Herb. 9: 42 232. Devrs, S. D. rr et. 1986. Plantsin danger.What This monotypic genusis endemicto His- do we know? IUCN, Switzerland. paniola. There are specimens and refer- DRensnrnrl, J., D. JoHNSoNAND H. SyNcE. l9BB. ences indicating that Zornbia antillarunt' The palms of the . A conservation status.IUCN. Switzerland. (Desc.ex Jackson)Bailey had a much wider HENDERSoN,A. I984. The native palmsof Puerto distribution formerly (see Bailey I939a). Rico.Principes 28:168 172. We have only found two very small non- - ANDM. Ausnv. 1989. Attalea crassispa- reproductive populations near St. Michel tha, an endemic and endangeredHaitian palm. Princioes33: BB-90. du Sud (Fig. I2). In one locality approx- JOHNSoN,D. tSgO. Economicbotany of the palm imately l0 individuals exist, with fewer in family in Latin America and the Caribbean.Final the second locality. This palm is locally Renort WWF 3322. "latanier "latanier called zombi" or Juol, W. S. I98?. Floristic study of Morne La "latanye piquant" (French) and zombi" or Visite and Pic Macaya National Parks, Haiti. "latanye Bull. Florida State Mus., Biol. Sc. 32: I-I29. pikan" in Creole.Leaves are used PARysKI,P. eNo C. A. WooDS. 1989. Conser- for weaving.This speciesis apparentlyquite vation strategiesand the preservation of biolog- common in certain areas of the Dominican ical diversity in Haiti. In: C. 4,. Woods (ed.). 142 PRINCIPES [Vor. 34

Biogeographyof the . Sandhill Crane versity & The International Palm Society. Allen Press,pp. 855 878. Press,Lawrence, Kansas, Re.tr, R. W. 1968. A study of Pseudophoenix WESSELSBorn, J. C. 1968. The geonomoidpalms. (Palmae).Gentes Herb. I0: I69-213. Verh. Kon. Ned. Akad. Wetensch.Afd. Natuurk.. 1975. The genv.Thrinax(Palmae: Cor- TweedeSect. ser. 2, 58: 1-202. yphoideae).Smithsonian Contr. Bot. l9: l-98. ZoNe.,S. 1990. A monographof the Sa6al (Are- Usr. N. W. a.rqoJ. DR,tNsrrrrl. 1987. Genera caceae:). Aliso 12:583 666. Palmarum. L. H. Bailey Hortorium, Cornell Uni-

(Continuedfrom p. 133) PALMLITERATURE cepts. On page l9l the author criticizes with particular reference to the palm col- Harold Moore for taking a long time over lection. the study of some specimens.Yet it is Action has been taken by the staff over WesselsBoer himself who must be criti- the last year to transmigrate the monkey cized for quick and uncritical work. In his populationwith the result that many of the "la introductionthe author writes ca6tica Palm specimens have now been able to situaci6n de la mayoria de la relevante produceseeds at last, and it is hopedthat literatura,hace casi imposible para muchos the monkey over-population will soon be bot6nicos el identificar satisfactoriamente fully under control. The Gardens has also las palmas ." f couldn't have put it replanted specimens of Johannesteijs- better myself. nannia ahifrons and J. peraken.sis,and a program for propagating other Malay- LlrnRerunn CIrsl sian palms is underway. On joint trips with the staff of the Gardens,we have found "L UHL. N. W. AND J. Dnausrrrro. 1987. Genera and also possibly lanceo- Palmarum. L. H. Bailey Hortorium, Cornell Uni- peraltensis J. versity and The International Palm Society. lata-tn areas not previously recorded. WESSELSBonn, J. G. 1971. Clavepara las Palmas There is obviously more scope for field Venezolanas.Acta Bot. Venez.6: 299-362. research and surveys in Malaysia. To ANnnrw HnNnnRsoN develop a greater national interest in the New York BotanicalGarden indigenousflora, there is a practical need Bronx, NY 10458 for reliable field references to liue plant specimens, and it would be particularly useful to have photographic information about the endangeredplants listed by Kiew & Dransfield, and others. LETTERS On page 73 of the same April issue,I notice that J. magnif.ca is being offered Dear Dr. Uhl, for sale in Florida. This highlights Ruth Kiew's lament that certain overseas col- As a new member of the International lectors appear to have commercializedon Palm Society, I read with great interest one of the most important endangered the article by Ruth Kiew in the April l9B9 speciesin Malaysia,whereas in the country issue of Principes and her references to itself there is general ignorance as to what the Waterfall Gardensin Penang prompts the palm actually looks like. me to update our readership about recent developments at the Waterfall Gardens, Darur Lm CHoNcKrer