Alakai Swamp pritchardia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Alakai Swamp pritchardia
Specimen growing in Auckland, New Zealand.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Arecales
Family:	Arecaceae
Genus:	Pritchardia
Species:	P. minor
Binomial name
Pritchardia minor Becc.
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Pritchardia minor, also known as the Alakai Swamp pritchardia or loulu, is a type of palm that grows naturally in Hawaiʻi. You can find it in the wet forests in the middle of Kauaʻi island. It usually grows at high places, around 1,400 meters (about 4,600 feet) above sea level.

About the Alakai Swamp Palm

The Alakai Swamp pritchardia can grow quite tall, reaching up to 12 meters (about 39 feet) high. Its trunk can be around 100 millimeters (about 4 inches) wide. When new leaves first appear, they often have a yellowish color. Sometimes, this yellow color stays on the underside of the older leaves too.

The leaves feel like leather and are smooth on top. But if you look underneath, they are waxy and covered with a soft, felt-like fuzz. This fuzz can be grayish or yellowish. The palm produces shiny black fruits that are oval-shaped. Each fruit is about 2 centimeters (0.8 inches) long and 13 millimeters (0.5 inches) wide. Inside, there is a seed that can be up to 15 millimeters (0.6 inches) across. This palm is not currently considered an endangered species.

Growing This Palm

If you want to grow an Alakai Swamp pritchardia, it likes a spot that gets plenty of sunshine. It also needs soil that drains water well but stays moist.

Other Names for This Palm

• Alakaʻi Swamp pritchardia
• Alakaʻi loulu

Older Scientific Names

• Pritchardia eriophora

See also

In Spanish: Pritchardia minor para niños