BB PRINCIPES [Vor. 33 Principes,33(2), 1989, pp. 88 90 Attalea crassispatha,an Endemic and EndangeredHaitian Palm ANtRsw HrNoensoN eNn Mtcnnr AusnY New York Botanical Garden' Bronx, NY.1O458,and Institut de Sauaegard,ed.u Patrinr,oine National, P.O. Boi 2484, Port-au-Prince, Haiti Most people are aware of the terrible duced more of Plumier's unpublishedillus- destruction of tropical forests which is tak- trations; Bailey (1939) called the palm "such ing place throughout the world. Palms are a rare and mighty object"; Cook "One predominantly tropical plants, and like ( 1939) wrote of the largestand most other groups of plants and animals, many attractivepalms of the West Indian flora." speciesare becoming threatened or endan- Cookwent on to proposethe nameBornoa gered. Recently Dr. Dennis Johnson has for the palm,.after a presidentof Haiti, initiated a project aimed at assessingthe Borno. Cook's disregard of the rules of conservation status of neotropical palms, botanical nomenclature prevented the use a project funded by the World Wildlife of this name. Fund (Johnson 1986). As part of this we There are various reasonswhy the palm have recently assessedthe status of one has receivedso much attention.One is its of the New World's rarest palms, the Hai- rarity, but it is also interesting for other tian Attalea crassispatha (Figs. I-4). reasons.It is the only speciesofthe Attalei- Exactly 300 years ago the French nat- nae (Attalea, Orbignya, Scheelea, and uralist Charles Plumier travelled to Haiti. Maximiliana) found outsideof Central and Among the palms he discovered and illus- South America (including Trinidad and "palma trated was cocifera, vaginis ven- Tobago).And it alsohas unusual staminate tricosis & liratis" (Plumier 1703). This flowers, intermediate between those of was one of the earliest scientific descrip- Attalea and Orbignya (Fig. 3). tions of a neotropical palm, even though In November 1988 we travelled the name, being pre-Linnean, is not validly throughoutHaiti's southweslern peninsula published. Much later, Martius (1847) in order to look for Attalea crassispatha. called the palrn Maxim'iliana crassispa' We had four localitiesto investigate-Fond tha, and later still Burret (19294) trans- desNegres (Plumier's original locality); Ile ferred the palm to the genus Attalea, and' i Vache (another locality given by Plu- so the name became AttaLea crassispatha mier); Glace, on the road to Pestel(sug- (C. lVlartius)Burret. gestedby Cook 1939); and near Cavaillon This palm, known to science for almost (suggestedby Dr. Tom Zanoni). Dr' Za' 300 years, has long fascinated botanists. noni had lookedfor the palm in 1983 and Three of the most prolific students of palms reported that just two plants existed at during the early part of this centur], Bur- Fond des Negres. ret, Bailey, and Cook, all wrote about it, Our first stopwas Fond des Negres. We and the last two collected it in the same found our first tree easily; it had been locaiity where Plumier saw it, at a place blown down and killed by Hurricane Gil- called Fond des Negres on Haiti's south- bert in September1988. Howeverwe found western peninsula. Burret (19296) repro- two more adults and severalseedlings, and r98el HENDERSONAND AUBRY:ATTALEA aa:rl :t'i:i; i.tir:q.l i4: .' l. Attalea crassispatha at the type locality, Fond des Negres, with Michel Aubry for scale. The stem is approxinrately 20 m tall. 2- Attoleo crassispathu near Cavaillon, with interfoliar inflorescences and infructes- cences. 3. Predominantly staminate inflorescence of Attalea crassispatha. 4. An old infnrctescence of Atta.Iea. crossispatha. PRINCIPES lVoL. 33 local peoplethought there might be more Acknowledgmenls and Ile i Vache in the region. At Glace Our trip to Haiti was initiatedby Dr. we were unlucky, and no one had heard DennisJohnson and fundedby the World 'corossier' A of the palm, called in Creole. Wildlife Fund (WWF 3322). farmer on Ile i Vache showedus a huge dead palm stem, which he had cut down in order to make a pigsty.It seemedlikely Lttsn,{rune Ctrun that it was an Attalea, and the last one at that locality. Finally we were lucky, and Benrv, L, H. 1939. The great Carossier.Gentes near Cavaillon we found one, then two Herb.'4: 262 265. Die palmengattung Orbignya, eventually a small population BuRRET,M. I929a. more, and Attalea. Scheel,ea.und Maximiliana. Notizbl. of the palms growing on a steep hillside' Bot. Gart. Berlin-DahlemI0: 493-543. Attalea crassispatha is not only rare BuRRET,M. 1929b. Palmae Cubenseset Domin- in the wild, but alsoin cultivation. Dr. John gensesa Cl. E. L. Ekman l9I4 1928 lectae. Popenoeinformed us that three trees are Kongl. Svensk.Vetenskapsakad. Handl. 6: l- 24. growing at Fairchild Tropical Garden. Coox, O. F. 1939. Bornoa, an endemicpalm of These trees are approximately 8 m tall Haiti. Nat. Hort. Mag. IB:245 28O. and in healthy condition, but have not yet JoHNsoN, D. V. 1986. Economic botany and flowered.Apparently few, if any, other cul- threatened speciesof the Palm family in Latin the Caribbean.Final Report WWF plants are known. America and tivated 3322. Our future researchplans include a study MARTIUS,C. F. P. voN. 1847. Palmetum Orbig- of the floral morphologyof Attalea cras- nianum. Paris. sispatha in order to find its correct place PLUMIER,C. 1703. Nova Plantarum Americana- in the Attaleinae. We are also initiating a rum Genera. Paris. program for the in situ and ex situ con- servation of this magnificent Haitian palm. BOOKSTORE (Continuedfrom page 87) * FURTHER INFORMATION ON HARDY New arrival -Pnrus (J. Popenoe,1973, 4 pp.) ---..--.,--2.00 NorEs oN PRTTCHARD|AtN HAwAtt (D. The palm books listed above may be ordered at Hodel, 1980, I6 pp.) .......-..--..-.. 2.50 the prices indicated plus $2.00 extra per book to RARE PALMS lN ARGENTINA (reprint cover packaging and postage. (California residents from Principes, E. J. Pingitore, 1982, pleaseadd 6To salestax.) Foreign checks must be in 9 pp., 5 beautiful drawings) 2.75 U.S. dollars and payable on a USA bank. In some PALMS-ANGESrRY AND RELAT|oNS countries it is possibleto send International Money (8. Ciesla.I 979. a chart) 6.00 Orders through the Post Office. Pleaseinclude your PALMS FOR TEXAS LANDSCAPES (R. International Palm Society membership number. Send Dewers & T. 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