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In September 2001 the Lord Howe Island Courier Post, commemorated 4 palm species with the following set of stamps by local artist Margaret Murray.

The adjacent notes come from the booklet on the right.  

Further Reading
Strange tale of the Kentia Palm
by George Plumptre
Reproduced from the Architectural Digest, Oct 1995
High quality PDF - 4 MB
Low Quality PDF - 920K

 

The Palm Family of Lord Howe Island

Kentia or Thatch Palm
(Howea forsteriana)
This tall endemic palm is widespread on the lowlands of Lord Howe Island, preferring sandy calcarenite soils, and generally level terrain. Trees occur in pure, dense stands or sometimes intermixed with banyan trees. They grow to 15 metres in height with trunks up to 15cm in diameter. Leaves can be 2- 3 metres in length, with leaflets dropping off the midrib. Flower spikes grow to a metre long in clusters of four to seven (average five), flowering from August to October. Seeds are lemon shaped (length about 3.5cm) and ripen from dark green to light green, then finally red.

Curly Palm (Howea belmoreana)
This graceful endemic palm is found on basalt (volcanic) soils from sea level to about 400 metres. It grows mixed with other rainforest species. Trees can reach 12 metres in height. Trunks up to 15cm in diameter are ringed by pronounced leaf scars. Individual leaves are strongly arched and up to 2-3 metres in length. Flowers grow on single flower spikes to a metre in length, flowering from November to December. Seeds are lemon shaped and similar in size and colour to the Thatch palm, ripening from green through to red.

Big Mountain Palm (Hedyscepe canterburryana)
This sturdy endemic palm grows on the basalt soils of the southern mountain slopes from about 350 to 875 metres above sea level. The grey trunks grow to 10 metres in height and bear prominent rings 2-5cm apart made by leaf scars. Leaves grow to 2 metres, are dark green and strongly arched; they are attached to the trunk with distinctive blue-grey sheaths up to 50cm in length. These palms grow interspersed with other mountain flora. Yellow flowers appear from March to August on superb, branching sprays growing from beneath the blue-grey sheaths. Seeds are egg-shaped to 5cm in length, changing from green to dull red when fully ripe.

Little Mountain Palm (Lepidorrhachis mooreana)
This dwarf endemic palm is restricted to the summits of Mount Gower and Mount Lidgbird, growing interspersed with other mountain species, and rarely occurring below 700 metres. Its maximum height is limited to about 2 metres, but the trunk is up to 15cm thick and prominently scarred with rings 1-2cm apart. The leaf is strongly arched, reaching 1.5m in length, and is attached to the trunk with a green/brown sheath. Small, creamy flowers appear on a multi branched stem from August to December, and prolific marble-sized seeds -  like huge bunches of grapes - ripen from green through to red.