~Fishtail Kattai Palm~

Description

Ponapea hosinoi 

(Pohnpei: kedei): 

Distribution: Endemic to Pohnpei. 

Attractive palm with lightly fragrant flowers. 

It grows to 12 meters tall and bears inflorescences year-round below its crown of leaves. 

It differs from Ponapea ledermanniana in having wider leaflets, scaly-brown inflorescence branches, and egg shaped fruit. 

Both species of Ponapea have the same local name.

Comments and Curiosities

A rare and attractive species from Ponape in the Pacific Caroline Islands (Endemic to Pohnpei) 

with a slender, tall trunk, and arching leaves with very large leaflets. 

The seeds are unusually large. A fast and easy-to-grow palm for the tropics.

Photo by Dr. C.E. Lewis.
Scientific Classification
Genus: Ponapea (poh-nah-PEH-ah) Species: hosinoi (hoh-sihn-NOH-ee)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
Oceania
Morphology
Habit: Solitary Leaf type: Pinnate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
Kattai Palm

Of the tribe Arecceae, and subfamily Arecoideae

it is also known by the botanic name

Ponapea hosinoi

Ponapea ledermanniana is a similar palm.

Synonyms: Ptychosperma ledermannianum 

Local names: Kattai, Kuter, Kehma [keima], (Pohnpei: kedei, Kosrae: kitacr)

Native to the Caroline Islands, Kosrae and Pohnpei (Micronesia)

A very beautiful Ponapea, one of the lost palms of Micronesia.

Pohnpei and Kosrae have the only remaining patches of montane cloud forest in Micronesia, 

and the only indigenous palm, Ponapea hosinoi. 

These live in some of the world’s most fragile habitats on the tiny Micronesian islands of Palau, Pohnpei, and Kosrae.

Palms such as Ptychosperma and Metroxylon are also found in these montane forests.  Located in the humid equatorial region 

on the southern edge of the typhoon belt, the islands at the eastern end of the Caroline chain are wet year-round. 

Rainfall in Pohnpei averages more than 4,500 mm annually, while parts of Kosrae, 550 km to the southeast, receive more than 6,400 mm per year. 

Historically, the three Micronesian species were all classified in Ponapea, a genus that was established in 1924 by the Italian botanist Odoardo Beccari. 

He established the genus based on his study of a botanical specimen that was later stored in the herbarium in Berlin. 

Unfortunately, the specimen was lost in 1943 during a World War II bombing that set fire to the herbarium.

    

 Ponapea is a genus of palms endemic to Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Palau. 

Although Ponapea ledermanniana is common on Kosrae, Ponapea hosinoi is rare on Pohnpei. 

Isolated individuals and small populations are scattered in low elevation rainforest. 

It grows to 30ft tall and rarely extends beyond the surrounding tree canopy.

      An elegant, solitary slender, fast growing palm from montane cloud rainforests of Micronesia, 

 

Ponapea hosinoi has intriguing smooth white flowering stalks and has a unique olive green crownshaft.. 

Ponapea hosinoi has strongly arched leaves with large, almost fishtail premorse leaflets, narrower than other Ponapea.

Its fruits are edible, so it is sometimes grown in home gardens. 

Its immature seeds taste a bit like coconut and are eaten as a snack. 

This species has bright white inflorescences with 2-3 inch fruits are tapered at both ends.

Height: 15-over 40 ft. (12 m)

Hardiness: USDA Zone 10b: to 1.7 °C (35 °F)

Sun Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade

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