Calamus vitiensis

Mission Beach wait-a-while
Conservation status
	Least Concern (NCA)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Arecales
Family:	Arecaceae
Genus:	Calamus
Species:	C. vitiensis
Binomial name
	Calamus vitiensis; Warb. ex Becc.
	Distribution of this species within Australia and New Guinea
Synonyms
	Calamus ledermannianus Becc. ; Calamus pachypus W.J.Baker, Bayton, J.Dransf. & Maturb. ; Calamus stipitatus Burret ; Calamus vanuatuensis Dowe ;

Calamus vitiensis, commonly known as the Dunk Island lawyer vine, solitary lawyer vine or Mission Beach wait-a-while, is a climbing palm in the family Arecaceae. It is found from the Maluku Islands east through New Guinea and the Solomon Islands to Fiji and Vanuatu, and south to Queensland, Australia. It is a solitary (i.e. not clumping) palm with a stem diameter up to 3 cm (1.2 in). The leaves have 25–40 leaflets and the midrib extends into a barbed cirrus up to 150 cm (59 in) long. It grows in lowland rainforest up to about 150 m (490 ft). It was first described in 1908.^[4]^[5]

Conservation

This species is listed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science as least concern under its Nature Conservation Act legislation.^[1] As of 10 November 2022^[update], it has not been assessed by the IUCN.

Gallery

Spiny stem
Habit
Habit

References

^ ^a ^b "Species profile—Calamus vitiensis". Queensland Department of Environment and Science. Queensland Government. 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
^ "Calamus vitiensis". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI). Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Calamus vitiensis Warb. ex Becc.". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
^ F.A.Zich; B.P.M.Hyland; T.Whiffen; R.A.Kerrigan (2020). "Calamus vitiensis". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants Edition 8 (RFK8). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), Australian Government. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
^ Dowe, J.L.; Jones, D.L. (2022). "Calamus vitiensis". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 1 January 2025.

External links

View a map of historical sightings of this species at the Australasian Virtual Herbarium
View observations of this species on iNaturalist
View images of this species on Flickriver

[DESQLD-1] "Species profile—Calamus vitiensis". Queensland Department of Environment and Science. Queensland Government. 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.

[APNI-2] "Calamus vitiensis". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI). Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. Retrieved 10 November 2022.

[POWO-3] "Calamus vitiensis Warb. ex Becc.". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 10 November 2022.

[RFK-4] F.A.Zich; B.P.M.Hyland; T.Whiffen; R.A.Kerrigan (2020). "Calamus vitiensis". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants Edition 8 (RFK8). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), Australian Government. Retrieved 1 January 2025.

[FOA-5] Dowe, J.L.; Jones, D.L. (2022). "Calamus vitiensis". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 1 January 2025.

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