MANILA, Philippines - Scientific name: Adonidia merrillii Becc.
Synonym: Veitchia merrillii (Becc.) H.E.Moore
Family: Palmae/Arecaceae
Local/Common Name: Bunga de China (Sp.), Bunga de Jolo (Sp.), Christmas palm (Engl.) Manila palm (Engl.)
Distribution: Throughout the Philippines. Cultivated in most tropical countries. Originally from Coron, Palawan where it grows on limestone cliffs.
Description: An elegant, solitary, slender palm to 6 m tall. Trunk is to 25 cm in diameter, marked with close annual rings. Leaves are arching and crowded at the terminal part of the trunk, to 2 m long. Petiole is recurved. Leaflets are linear, to 90 cm long, green on both sides. Flowers are numerous, small, whitish green. Fruits are elliptic-ovoid, smooth, red when ripe.
Etymology: The species is named after Dr. Elmer D. Merrill, eminent American botanist who described numerous Philippine plants during the early 1900s.
Conservation Status: Vulnerable
Conservation Notes: This native palm is a favorite ornamental plant cultivated in gardens and parks throughout the country. It is now widely distributed in the tropics and in greenhouses of temperate countries. It readily sets numerous seeds which germinate easily. In its original habitat in the limestone hills in Coron Is., northern Palawan the population is rather small and composed of few individuals. It is vulnerable due to over-collection for ornamental purpose. The species is in the list of endangered species in the Philippines.
For further information contact: D.A. Madulid, Botany Division, National Museum, Manila. Email: d.madulid@yahoo.com