Common Name:

General Information

Hydriastele wendlandiana is an evergreen, usually clump-forming palm producing a cluster of up to 10 unbranched stems each up to 17 metres tall and up to 12cm in diameter; these are topped by a crown of 5 - 12 erect to horizontal leaves each around 100 - 250cm long including the petiole[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and source of materials. It is also planted locally as an ornamental[].
Hydriastele wendlandiana is widely distributed and common in northern Australia, New Guinea and on islands in between. However, this species is widely used amongst local people, and deforestation is projected to affect large areas across New Guinea, which could threaten subpopulations of this species in the future. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2019)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Australasia - New Guinea, Australia (northern Northern Territory, northern Queensland)

Habitat

An understorey to midstorey plant in rainforest and seasonally inundated swamp forest, evergreen monsoon vine forest associated with permanent fresh water, in drier areas as a riparian element in various soil types; at elevations up to 1,000 metres[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Edibility Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	15.00 m
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

Young shoots are eaten[, ]. The palm heart (the inner core and growing bud of the plant) is harvested. It provides a crispy food, rich in nutrients, that can be eaten raw or cooked. Harvesting the heart will lead to the death of the stem it was harvested from, though in multi-stemmed plants such as this the rest of the plant will continue to grow and often produce new stems[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

Several uses of this species are recorded from New Guinea, where it is used for flooring, roofing, bed construction material, arrows and spears, harpoons[].

Propagation

Seed -

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