Hyophorbe is a genus of five known species of flowering plants in the family Arecaceae, native to the Mascarene Islands in the Indian Ocean. All five species can attain heights of over 6 meters, and two of the species develop swollen trunks that have made them popular as ornamentals,[1][2] but all of them are endangered in the wild.
Hyophorbe | |
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Hyophorbe indica | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Clade: | Commelinids |
Order: | Arecales |
Family: | Arecaceae |
Subfamily: | Arecoideae |
Tribe: | Chamaedoreeae |
Genus: | Hyophorbe Gaertn. |
Synonyms[1] | |
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It contains the following species:[1]
- Hyophorbe amaricaulis Mart. – Mauritius, 1 individual left
- Hyophorbe indica Gaertn. (palmiste poison) – Réunion
- Hyophorbe lagenicaulis (L.H.Bailey) H.E.Moore (bottle palm) – Mauritius
- Hyophorbe vaughanii L.H.Bailey – Mauritius
- Hyophorbe verschaffeltii H.Wendl. (palmiste marron) – Rodrigues Island
Species gallery
editSource:[3]
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The last surviving specimen of Hyophorbe amaricaulis. This species has a slender, unswollen trunk.
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Hyophorbe indica is another slender-trunk species, but often with yellow veins along its foliage.
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Hyophorbe lagenicaulis is known as the "bottle palm" as it trunks swells from near the base, into a bottle shape.
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Hyophorbe verschaffeltii is known as the "spindle palm" as its trunk swells in the middle. It has black fruits and yellow-green foliage.
References
editWikimedia Commons has media related to Hyophorbe.
- ^ a b c World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Hyophorbe
- ^ Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J. (2005). World Checklist of Palms: 1–223. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- ^ C.Lewis, Barboza, N. (2000). ldentity of the Hyophorbe Palms at the Botanical Garden of Cienfuegos, Cuba Palms 44. p.95.