Bentinckia nicobarica

Bentinckia nicobarica is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae found to occur in the Nicobar group of islands in the Bay of Bengal. It is an endemic palm occurring in Great Nicobar, Katchal, Nancowry and Car Nicobar Islands.

Bentinckia nicobarica
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Genus: Bentinckia
Species:
B. nicobarica
Binomial name
Bentinckia nicobarica
(Kurz) Becc.
Synonyms

Orania nicobarica

The occurrence of this species in Andaman and Nicobar group of islands other than Katchal Island is yet to be confirmed as natural/escape or by human introduction. It is an endangered species according to IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 2016 with Red List Category & Criteria as C2a (ver 2.3). Living specimens of this taxon are conserved at the Indian Botanic Garden, Howrah and at the Field Gene Bank of Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Thiruvananthapuram in India.

Description

Bentinckia nicobarica grows about 20m tall and girth is about 25  cm.[2] The stems are used by the local people in house and fence construction. It is generally seen along with other palm species such as Areca catechu, Pinanga manii and Rhopaloblaste augusta.[3][4]

References
  1. Johnson, D. (1998). "Bentinckia nicobarica". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 1998: e.T38450A10120169. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1998.RLTS.T38450A10120169.en. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  2. Henderson, A (2009). "Palms of Southern Asia". The New York Botanical Garden. Princeton University Press. Princeton.
  3. Brandis, D (1906). "Indian Trees – An account of Trees, Shrubs, Woody climbers, Bamboos and Palms indigenous or commonly cultivated in the British Indian Empire". Third Reprint 1990. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehra Dun, India.
  4. Mathew, S. P. & Abraham, S. (1994). "The vanishing palms of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. Principas 38: 100-104". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

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