Arenga australasica

Arenga australasica, commonly known as arenga palm or southern arenga, is a plant in the palm family Arecaceae found only in the Northern Territory and Queensland, Australia. It has a clustering habit and it may reach in height with a trunk diameter of. Fronds can be up to long with numerous leaflets, dark green above and grey underneath. Inflorescences are produced from the bases of the fronds and can reach a length of, carrying numerous pendant panicles of flowers. The flowers are in clusters of 3 with one and two flowers. The red or purple fruit are almost spherical in shape, about diameter and contain two or three seeds.

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 1875 as Saguerus australasicus by botanists Hermann Wendland and Carl Georg Oscar Drude, and then later transferred to the current binomial by Stanley Thatcher Blake and Carl Georg Oscar Drude in 1963.

Distribution and habitat

This tree is found in the Top End of the Northern Territory, some islands of the Torres Strait, and the east coast of Queensland from the top of Cape York Peninsula south to about Cardwell.

Conservation

This species is listed as vulnerable under the Queensland Government's Nature Conservation Act., it has not been assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.