Ptychosperma macarthurii
species of palm native to northern Australia and New Guinea
Ptychosperma macarthurii, commonly known as the Macarthur palm, is a species of tree in the palm family Arecaceae. Its native range is northern Cape York Peninsula in Queensland with a number of disjunct populations in the Northern Territory in Australia and in New Guinea. The species has been widely planted in tropical areas and is commonly grown as an indoor plant.
Description
P. macarthurii is a clumping (multi-stemmed) palm growing to a height of 10 m (33 ft). The slender stems measure up to 10 cm (3.9 in) in diameter and have prominent leaf scars encircling the trunk. They are green in the younger sections of the trunk just below the crownshaft, but may be greyish lower down.
The crown consists of between 3 and 13 paripinnate fronds to 3 m (9.8 ft) in length, with 15-40 pinnae (leaflets) on either side of the rachis (midrib), and have a crownshaft which measures about 70 cm (28 in) long.
The leaflets measure up to 56 cm (22 in) in length, are regularly or irregularly arranged (often clustered), with nearly parallel margins and a truncated tip. They are mid green on the upper surface and lighter below.
The inflorescences are up to 45 cm (18 in) long and branched 2 to 3 times.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Ptychosperma macarthurii” as species of palm native to northern Australia and New Guinea. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as species of palm native to northern Australia and New Guinea. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4047614. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Ptychosperma macarthurii” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.