Common Name:

General Information

Hydriastele gibbsiana is a robust, solitary stemmed, evergreen palm producing an unbranched trunk that can be up to 30 metres tall and up to 10cm in diameter; the stem is topped by a crown of 13 - 15 leaves around 200 - 215cm long including the petiole[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a source of materials. A distinctive species, due to its strikingly swollen stem[].
The distribution and abundance of Hydriastele gibbsiana is insufficiently known. The plant is classified as 'Data Deficient' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2019)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Australasia - western New Guinea

Habitat

An emergent tree in premontane and montane rainforest, growing on slopes and ridge tops; at elevations from 950 - 2,450 metres[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Data Deficient
Height	0.00 m

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The leaves are used as thatch[, ].

The stems of this species were, at least until the 1990s, lashed together by the Alfueros people to make rafts on the Anggi Lakes, due to the pithy stems being very light and buoyant when dried[]. In 2017, the trunks were no longer observed being used in this way[, ].
The stems are also used for flooring[, ].

Propagation

Seed -

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