Species profile—Livistona drudei (Halifax fan palm)
Classification
Plantae (plants) → Equisetopsida (land plants) → Arecaceae (palm) → Livistona drudei (Halifax fan palm)
Species details
- Kingdom
- Plantae (plants)
- Class
- Equisetopsida (land plants)
- Family
- Arecaceae (palm)
- Scientific name
- Livistona drudei F.Muell.
- Common name
- Halifax fan palm
- WildNet taxon ID
- 12780
- Alternate name(s)
- palm
cabbage palm - Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA) status
- Vulnerable
- Conservation significant
- Yes
- Confidential
- Yes
- Endemicity
- Native
- Pest status
- Nil
- Description
- Livistona drudei is a palm with a solitary trunk growing to 28 m tall and 15 to 20 cm in diameter. The trunk sits on a large root mass of up to 80 cm in diameter and 40 cm high, reducing upward to a final constant diameter of 17 to 23 cm. The trunk surface is pale grey and smooth. The crown is rather open, and rounded or inverted-conical, consisting of 30 to 60 leaves with long, weak, arching petioles 1.5 to 2.3 m long and 15 to 25 cm wide. The petioles are smooth or with small marginal thorns. The leaf base is purple. The lamina may be circular, 1 to 1.5 m long, coriaceous, dark green in colour and is divided to near the middle or more. The upper lamina surface is glossy and the lower is rather dull, quite glabrous except for inconspicuous, brownish narrow scales on the underside of the rib bases. Each lamina consists of 30 to 42 segments either side of the stalk. The largest segments are 20 to 27 mm wide, free for 60 to 70 percent of their length and forked into 2 lobes for 60 percent of the free length. The lobes are attenuate .
The inflorescence is slightly shorter than to longer than petioles, 1.5 to 3 m long, branched to three orders. The bracts are sparsely scaly, the rachillae minutely pubescent. The flowers are solitary or in sympodial clusters of 2 to 5, funnel-shaped, and cream in colour. The sepals are narrowly triangular, 0.7 to 1.5 mm long, subacute and fleshy. The petals are broadly ovate, 1.2 to 2 mm long, thickened at the apex and fleshy. The fruit is globose to pyriform, 10 to 12 mm in diameter, purple-black. The seed is ellipsoid, 8 to 9 mm long (Rodd, 1988; Dowe, 2007; Dowe and Jones, 2011). - Map
- View Map
- Habitat
- Livistona drudei occurs in melaleuca swamp-forest and fringes of gallery- or tropical-rainforest bordering on eucalypt forest. It grows in areas with boulders, on stream banks on flat coastal plains. It is confined to streams that have a continuous dry season flow or at least persisting as soaks. It is also found in similar habitats above the upper limit of mangroves, near sheltered estuaries (Rodd, 1998). Associated species include: Corymbia torelliana, E. tereticornis and C. tessellaris (Dowe, 2007; Dowe and Jones, 2011; Queensland Herbarium, 2012). ,
- Reproduction
- Mating systems of Livistona drudei have been studied and were found to be functionally dioecious, with flowering occurring in the dry season, August to March. Fruiting occurs December to June (Dowe, 2007; Dowe and Jones, 2011).
- Threatening processes
- Urban development in coastal areas around Townsville is considered a major threat to Livistona drudei through habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation (DERM, 2010a). Minor threats to L. drudei include recreation/ tourism (habitat degradation e.g. campers, fishers and trail-bike riders disturb habitat); inappropriate fire regimes (e.g. high intensity fires can kill individuals and prevent regeneration) and disturbance and lack of site management from nickel refinery (has caused invasion of weeds and an increased risk from fire) (DERM, 2010a).
In the Mackay Whitsunday NRM region there is only one known population of L. drudei. Major threats include inappropriate river flow regime and inappropriate grazing regimes (cattle currently use this one population stand for shelter as the surrounding land has been cleared) (DERM, 2010b). - Status notes
- Livistona fulva is listed as Vulnerable under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992.
- Management documents
- Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) (2010a), Burdekin Natural Resource Management Region Back on Track Actions for Biodiversity, Department of Environment and Resource Management, Brisbane.
Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) (2010b), Mackay Whitsunday Natural Resource Management Region Back on Track Actions for Biodiversity, Department of Environment and Resource Management, Brisbane. - Management recommendations
- Priority actions to manage the threat of development to L. drudei include; providing information from development applications on the potential impact on L. drudei; include L. drudei in local government development plans; and encourage local government and consultants to highlight impacts of urban development (DERM, 2010a; DERM, 2010b).
Priority actions to manage inappropriate grazing regimes include: plans and strategies (e.g. review and amend (at renewal) the condition of grazing lease in state forests that contain known or potential habitat for L. drudei); on ground works (e.g. use incentives to encourage landholders with known or potential habitat for L. drudei to implement appropriate grazing regimes); building community capacity (e.g. encourage through information from land management workshops); research and monitoring (e.g. conduct surveys, monitor on ground actions) (DERM, 2010b).
Examples of priority actions to manage, maintain or improve flow regimes include providing incentives to retain or restore riparian habitats, implement management practices to maintain or improve flow regimes important for L. drudei and increase awareness of staff and local community on flow regime requirements and identification of L. drudei (DERM, 2010b). - Notes
- Contributors: Ailsa Holland, Mellisa Mayhew 17/06/2009
- References
- Dowe, J.L. and Jones, D.L. in Wilson, A.J.G. (Ed) (2011). Flora of Australia 39: 172.
Dowe, J.L. (2007). Notes on endangered and Vulnerable Queensland Palms. Palms and Cycads 95: 8-16.
Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) (2010a). Burdekin Natural Resource Management Region Back on Track Actions for Biodiversity. Department of Environment and Resource Management, Brisbane.
Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) (2010b). Mackay Whitsunday Natural Resource Management Region Back on Track Actions for Biodiversity. Department of Environment and Resource Management, Brisbane.
Queensland Herbarium (2011). Specimen label information. Queensland Herbarium. Accessed 21/07/2011.
Rodd, A.N. (1998). Revision of Livistona (Arecaceae) in Australia. Telopea 8 (1): 89-92. - Profile author
- Lynise Wearne (25/06/2012)
Other resources
Data source
This profile data is sourced from the QLD Wildlife Data API using the Get species by ID function used under CC-By 4.0.
https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/species/?op=getspeciesbyid&taxonid=12780.
This information is sourced from the WildNet database managed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science.
