Why is this new?
For this reason, in their study, published in the PALMS magazine, of the International Palm Society, they recognize “The importance of using indigenous knowledge to accelerate species identification”.
Before its scientific description, the plant was known in at least three Bornean languages under the names Pinang Tanah, Pinang Pipit, Muring Pelandok and Tudong Pelandok, they say.
The new species of palm joins the around 300 recorded so far on the island of Borneo and some 2,500 known worldwide, half of which may be in danger of extinction.
Benedikt Kuhnhäuser of Kew admits that “Without the warning of our Malaysian colleague, Dr. Paul Chai, we probably would have mistaken this exciting new species for just another palm seedling and passed it by.”
Instead, they have been able to scientifically document “an incredibly rare case of geoflowering, which is flowering underground, and the first known example of its kind in the entire palm family”declares
Even after the alert from Chai, who first encountered the palm in 1997, scientists faced an uphill task to prove that “Pinanga Subterranea” was a new species.
Determining it required meticulous examination by Agusti Randi, a Pinanga expert, who carefully compared the specimen to all other known species in the genus from Borneo.
Experts say that geoflowering and geocarpy (flowering and fruiting underground, respectively) are exceptional phenomena, since most flowering plants (angiosperms) have evolved to do so outdoors, in order to facilitate pollination and seed dispersal.
The scientists add that they must now study how the “Pinanga subterranea” is pollinated, although they already know how its seeds are dispersed in the tropical forest: through the feces of the bearded pig (Sus barbatus), which consumes its red and juicy fruit.