Flora of New Zealand Series

Nikau.

Type locality: New Zealand. Type: BM, Banks and Solander. The most southerly record is on Pitt Id of the Chatham group at lat. 44º 18' (G. C. Kelly).

Trunk to c. 10 m. × 25 cm., green between rather closely spaced lf-scars; crownshaft to 60 cm. long, smooth and green, slightly bulging. Lf to 3 m. long; lflts to 1 m. long, closely set and ascending sharply. Spathes c. 30 × 15 cm., between pink and yellow, smooth, falling as first fls open. Ultimate branches of infl. to c. 20–(30) cm. long, c. 1.5 cm. diam. with buds on, at first pale cream-coloured; fl.-buds tightly packed, lilac. Fr. c. 10 × 7 mm., elliptic-oblong, brick-red. Seed long-oval, tightly invested in smooth, whitish endocarp which is marked by mainly longitudinal vascular strands; hilum broad at chalazal end, tapering to a narrow groove beside the micropyle.

DIST.: N., S., Ch. Southern limits Banks Peninsula on east, about Grey-mouth on west.

Lowland forest.

FL. 11–4. FT. 2–11.