Licuala is a genus of palms, in the tribe Trachycarpeae, commonly found in tropical forests of southern China, Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, New Guinea and the western Pacific Ocean islands.[1][2]

Licuala
Licuala grandis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Embryophytes
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Spermatophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Subfamily: Coryphoideae
Tribe: Trachycarpeae
Genus: Licuala
Wurmb[1]
Synonyms[1]
  • Pericycla Blume
  • Dammera K.Schum. & Lauterb.
Licuala ramsayi

Description and uses

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Licuala spp. are fan palms, with the leaves mostly circular in outline, sometimes undivided but more usually divided into wedge-shaped segments. Licuala acutifida is the source of cane for the walking stick nicknamed the Penang-lawyer by colonials, probably from the Malay phrase pinang liyar for a wild areca, although the term may also refer to the use of these canes as deadly knobkerries to assassinate litigious enemies.[3] Several species of Licuala have been transferred into a new genus Lanonia.[4]

Species

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As of March 2026, Plants of the World Online accepts the following 149 species:[1]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 "Licuala Wurmb". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2026. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  2. "Licuala Wurmb". World Flora Online. World Flora Online Consortium. 2026. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  3. Germplasm Resources Information Network: Licuala Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Henderson, Andrew J.; Bacon, Christine D. (2011). "Lanonia (Arecaceae: Palmae), a New Genus from Asia, with a Revision of the Species". Systematic Botany. 36 (4): 883–895. doi:10.1600/036364411x604903. JSTOR 41416905. S2CID 84318474.