Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 20, 2026

Licuala

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.

Last revised
Jun 20, 2026
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≈ 3 min
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Wikipedia ↗
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
Wurmb1
Synonyms1
  • Pericycla Blume
  • Dammera K.Schum. & Lauterb.
Licuala ramsayi source ↗

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.12

Description and uses

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

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

  • Licuala acuminata Burret
  • Licuala acutifida Mart.
  • Licuala adscendens Barfod & Heatubun
  • Licuala ahlidurii Saw
  • Licuala anomala Becc.
  • Licuala atrovirens Saw
  • Licuala atroviridis A.J.Hend., N.K.Ban & N.Q.Dung
  • Licuala averyanovii A.J.Hend., N.K.Ban & N.Q.Dung
  • Licuala bachmaensis A.J.Hend., N.K.Ban & N.Q.Dung
  • Licuala bacularia Becc.
  • Licuala bakeri Barfod & Heatubun
  • Licuala bankae Barfod & Heatubun
  • Licuala bayana Saw
  • Licuala bellatula Becc.
  • Licuala bidentata Becc.
  • Licuala bidoupensis A.J.Hend., N.K.Ban & N.Q.Dung
  • Licuala bifida Heatubun & Barfod
  • Licuala bintulensis Becc.
  • Licuala bissula Miq.
  • Licuala borneensis Becc.
  • Licuala bracteata Gagnep.
  • Licuala brevicalyx Becc.
  • Licuala bruneiana Saw
  • Licuala burretii Saw
  • Licuala cabalionii Dowe
  • Licuala caespitosa A.J.Hend. & N.Q.Dung
  • Licuala cameronensis Saw
  • Licuala campestris Saw
  • Licuala cattienensis A.J.Hend., N.K.Ban & N.Q.Dung
  • Licuala celebica Miq.
  • Licuala chaiana Saw
  • Licuala coccinisedes Barfod & Heatubun
  • Licuala collina Saw
  • Licuala cordata Becc.
  • Licuala corneri Furtado
  • Licuala dakrongensis A.J.Hend., N.K.Ban & B.V.Thanh
  • Licuala densiflora Becc.
  • Licuala distans Ridl.
  • Licuala egregia Saw
  • Licuala elegans Blume
  • Licuala ellipsoidalis A.J.Hend., N.K.Ban & N.Q.Dung
  • Licuala elliptica Saw
  • Licuala essigii Barfod & Heatubun
  • Licuala exigua Saw
  • Licuala ferruginea Becc.
  • Licuala ferruginoides Becc.
  • Licuala flammula Saw
  • Licuala flexuosa Burret
  • Licuala fordiana Becc.
  • Licuala fractiflexa Saw
  • Licuala glaberrima Gagnep.
  • Licuala glabra Griff.
  • Licuala graminifolia Heatubun & Barfod
  • Licuala grandiflora Ridl.
  • Licuala grandis (T.Moore) H.Wendl.
  • Licuala hairulii Saw
  • Licuala hallieriana Becc.
  • Licuala heatubunii Barfod & W.J.Baker
  • Licuala honbaensis A.J.Hend. & N.Q.Dung
  • Licuala honheoensis A.J.Hend. & N.Q.Dung
  • Licuala insignis Becc.
  • Licuala intermedia Saw
  • Licuala kamarudinii Saw
  • Licuala kemamanensis Furtado
  • Licuala khoonmengii Saw
  • Licuala kiahii Furtado
  • Licuala kingiana Becc.
  • Licuala kuchingensis Saw
  • Licuala kunstleri Becc.
  • Licuala lambii Saw
  • Licuala lamdongensis A.J.Hend. & N.Q.Dung
  • Licuala lanata J.Dransf.
  • Licuala lanuginosa Ridl.
  • Licuala lauterbachii Dammer & K.Schum.
  • Licuala leopoldii Saw
  • Licuala leucocarpa Saw
  • Licuala longicalycata Furtado
  • Licuala longiflora A.J.Hend., N.K.Ban & N.Q.Dung
  • Licuala longipes Griff.
  • Licuala longispadix Banka & Barfod
  • Licuala maculata Saw
  • Licuala malajana Becc.
  • Licuala mattanensis Becc.
  • Licuala meijeri Saw
  • Licuala merguensis Becc.
  • Licuala micholitzii Ridl.
  • Licuala mirabilis Furtado
  • Licuala miriensis Saw
  • Licuala modesta Becc.
  • Licuala montana Dammer & K.Schum.
  • Licuala moyseyi Furtado
  • Licuala mukahensis Saw
  • Licuala multibracteata Barfod & Heatubun
  • Licuala mustapana Saw
  • Licuala nana Blume
  • Licuala nuichuaensis A.J.Hend. & N.Q.Dung
  • Licuala olivifera Becc.
  • Licuala oliviformis Becc.
  • Licuala orbicularis Becc.
  • Licuala oryzoides Saw
  • Licuala pahangensis Furtado
  • Licuala palas Saw
  • Licuala paludosa Griff.
  • Licuala parviflora Dammer ex Becc.
  • Licuala parvula A.J.Hend. & N.Q.Dung
  • Licuala patens Ridl.
  • Licuala peekelii Lauterb.
  • Licuala peltata Roxb. ex Buch.-Ham.
  • Licuala penduliflora (Blume) Zipp. ex Blume
  • Licuala petiolulata Becc.
  • Licuala pilosa Saw
  • Licuala pitta Vatch. ex Barfod & Pongsatt.
  • Licuala poonsakii Hodel
  • Licuala pseudovalida Saw
  • Licuala pumila Blume
  • Licuala punctulata Burret
  • Licuala pusilla Becc.
  • Licuala radula Gagnep.
  • Licuala ramsayi (F.Muell.) Domin
  • Licuala reptans Becc.
  • Licuala rheophytica Saw
  • Licuala ridleyana Becc.
  • Licuala robinsoniana Becc.
  • Licuala rubiginosa Saw
  • Licuala rumphii Blume
  • Licuala ruthiae Saw
  • Licuala sabahana Saw
  • Licuala sallehana Saw
  • Licuala sandsiana Barfod & Heatubun
  • Licuala sarawakensis Becc.
  • Licuala scortechinii Becc.
  • Licuala simplex (K.Schum. & Lauterb.) Becc.
  • Licuala spathellifera Becc.
  • Licuala spectabilis Miq.
  • Licuala spicata Becc.
  • Licuala spinosa Wurmb
  • Licuala stipitata Burret
  • Licuala stongensis Saw
  • Licuala suprafolia Barfod & Heatubun
  • Licuala taynguyensis Barfod & Borchs.
  • Licuala telifera Becc.
  • Licuala tenuissima Saw
  • Licuala terengganuensis Saw
  • Licuala thoana Saw & J.Dransf.
  • Licuala tiomanensis Furtado
  • Licuala triphylla Griff.
  • Licuala urciflora Barfod & Heatubun
  • Licuala whitmorei Saw
  • Licuala yiiana Saw
References

References

  1. "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.