Wallichia oblongifolia Griff.

Mehmud, Selim & Roy, Himu, 2021, Diversity and distribution of palms (Arecaceae) in Assam, India, Check List 17 (1), pp. 69-93 : 90

Wallichia oblongifolia Griff.

Figure 9D, F

Diagnostic characters. Stems solitary or clustered; leaf pinnate, ca 3.5 m long; petiole ca 2 m long; indumentums brown. Leaflets regular, alternate, 18–26 per side, 45–87 cm long, ca 5 cm wide, oblong, serrated, abaxially silvery white and terminally 3–4 lobed. Staminate inflores- cence resupinate, at the base, ca 75 cm long; bracts 4 or 5 in number, 20–28 cm long, alternate, ovate; rachillae yel- low, ca 50–60 in number, 20–23 cm long; flowers pink to dark purple pink. Pistillate inflorescences erect ca 80 cm long; rachillae 17–20 in number, 30–48 cm long, green; bracts 24–30 cm long, linear and ovate; pistillate flow- ers spirally arranged; few neuter flowers at terminal por- tion of the rachillae. Fruits ellipsoid, red, 1–1.5 cm long. Flowering and fruiting. April to May and May to November, respectively.

Distribution. Cachar, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Hailaknadi, Kamrup Metro, Kamrup Rural, East Karbi Anglong, West Karbi Anglong, Kokrajhar and Lakhimpur dis- tricts; common in Assam and extend up to 900 m.

Uses. For roofs (leaf), and brooms (midvein).

Material examined. INDIA • Mizoram, Merlan National Park, Pumpet River Forest ; 19 Jan. 2013; Ramesh Kumar & Party leg.; ASSAM 87977 . • 1 ♂ ♀; Assam, West Karbi Anglong, Nelie Umapanai Khenduli Tapat Road ; 26°02′24.9″N, 092°16′29.3″E; alt. 74 m; 06 May 2018; S. Mehmud leg. ; CH, ASSAM 96257 .