Pandanus iceryi

Pandanus iceryi ("Vacoas") is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae.[3] It is endemic to Mauritius.

Pandanus iceryi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Pandanales
Family: Pandanaceae
Genus: Pandanus
Species:
P. iceryi
Binomial name
Pandanus iceryi

Description
Juvenile plant in cultivation at Monvert Nature Park

This is a tall (10m), unbranched tree - the only Mauritian Pandanus species to grow as one single, tall, palm-like trunk, without any branches.

The bright-green leaves end abruptly at the tip, and are armed on the sides with small, white spines. Uniquely, the pale-coloured, oval fruit-head hangs from the main trunk of the plant. Each fruit-head is packed with c.40 drupes.[4][5][6]

Habitat

Its natural habitat is dense forest on Mauritius. It was formerly known from several localities around the island, such as Piton du Milieu, Cent Gaulettes and Fressanges. However the habitat at all these localities has been destroyed.

It is threatened by habitat loss and it was thought to be extinct. It was rediscovered in the Vallée de Ferney forests with Pandanus macrostigma in 2004. Currently only a few individual plants remain in the wild, although it is now cultivated in Mauritius.[7]

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References
  1. "Pandanus iceryi Horne ex Balf.f." Plants of the World Online. The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. n.d. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  2. "Pandanus iceryi Horne ex Balf.f." World Flora Online. The World Flora Online Consortium. n.d. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  3. "Pandanus iceryi Horne ex Balf.f." The Plant List.
  4. Vaughan RE, Wiehe PO (1953) The genus Pandanus in the Mascarene Islands. Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Botany 55(356): 1-33. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.1953.tb00001.x.
  5. Strahm, W.A. 1993. The conservation and restoration of the flora of Mauritius and Rodrigues. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis (2 vols.), Reading University, UK.
  6. Vaughan, R.E. and Wiehe, P.O. 1953. Flore des Mascareignes, Genus Pandanus. The Sugar Industry Research Institute, Mauritius, ORSTOM, Paris and RBG, Kew.
  7. http://www.valleedeferney.com/educational-biodiversity.php


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