Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ Needle Palm

Rhapidophyllum hystrix

(Pursh) H. Wendl. & Drude ex Drude

Needle Palm

G4Apparently Secure Found in 2 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.155003
Element CodePMARE0B010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassMonocotyledoneae
OrderArecales
FamilyArecaceae
GenusRhapidophyllum
Other Common Names
needle palm (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Conservation Status
Review Date1988-11-07
Change Date1988-11-07
Edition Date1995-06-07
Edition AuthorsJennifer Snyder
Range Extent20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles)
Rank Reasons
Fairly common in Florida.
Range Extent Comments
Needle palm can be found from Beaufort County, South Carolina southward to south central peninsular Highlands and Hardee Counties, Florida, through the coastal plain of Georgia and Alabama west to Simpson County in southcentral Mississippi. All but the Monroe and Jones County, Georgia, sites are on the coastal plain. Distribution does not extend to the Caribbean or Central America.
Threat Impact Comments
Occasionally exploited commercially in Florida.
Ecology & Habitat

Diagnostic Characteristics

Stem armed with stiff, dark, needlelike spines up to about 2 dm long (Clewell 1985). Lower leaf with silvery scales. Base of the blade shallowly cupped. Inflorescence hidden among leaf bases and needles.

Habitat

Found primarily along wooded river and ravine slopes, calcareous rocky woodlands, moist to wet floodplains of small woodland streams, or springy seepage areas in ravines and bayheads (Godfrey and Wooten 1979).

Soil moisture in these areas ranges from hydric to mesic and soil pH is moderately alkaline. Soil texture may vary from clay/silt to loam or sand. The geologic substrate is typically calcareous.

Ecology

This species cannot withstand mechanical disturbance or fire. It is somewhat tolerant of differences in salinity and cold temperatures. It is very tolerant of shade.

Reproduction

May reproduce vegetatively; however this form of reproduction is of limited importance. Sexual reproduction involves selfing and outcrossing, with the pollen vector being Coleoptera, specifically Notolomus sp. (weevil) (Curculionidae). Beetles are attracted to both staminate and pistillate flowers by a musky odor and feed on pollen and flower parts (Shuey and Wunderlin 1977). Plants are usually dioecious, but may be polygamodioecious or (rarely) monoecious. Fruit set poor, and seed parasitism high.
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN4
ProvinceRankNative
FloridaS4Yes
GeorgiaS3Yes
AlabamaS2Yes
MississippiS3Yes
South CarolinaS1Yes
Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (2)
Florida (2)
AreaForestAcres
Alexander Springs CreekOcala National Forest2,954
Gum BayApalachicola National Forest11,645
References (8)
  1. Boschung, H., editor. 1976. Endangered and threatened plants and animals of Alabama. Bulletin of the Alabama Museum of Natural History No. 2. 92 pp.
  2. Clewell, A.F. 1985. Guide to vascular plants of the Florida panhandle. Florida State Univ. Press, Tallahassee, Florida. 605 pp.
  3. Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission. 1994. Official Lists of Endangered and Potentially Endangered Fauna and Flora in Florida. Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission, Tallahassee.
  4. Godfrey, R.K. 1988. Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of northern Florida and adjacent Georgia and Alabama. Univ. Georgia Press, Athens. 734 pp.
  5. Godfrey, R.K., and J.W. Wooten. 1979. Aquatic and wetland plants of southeastern United States: Monocotyledons. Univ. Georgia Press, Athens. 712 pp.
  6. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  7. Small, J.K. 1933. Manual of the southeastern flora. Two volumes. Hafner Publishing Company, New York.
  8. Uhl, N.W & J. Dransfield. 1987. Genera Palmarum: A Classification of Palms Based on the Work of Harold E. Moore, Jr. Allen Press, Lawrence, Kansas.