Hyophorbe

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
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]
  • Sublimia Comm. ex Mart
  • Mascarena L.H.Bailey

It contains the following species:[1]

  1. Hyophorbe amaricaulis Mart. – Mauritius, 1 individual left
  2. Hyophorbe indica Gaertn. (palmiste poison) – Réunion
  3. Hyophorbe lagenicaulis (L.H.Bailey) H.E.Moore (bottle palm) – Mauritius
  4. Hyophorbe vaughanii L.H.Bailey – Mauritius
  5. Hyophorbe verschaffeltii H.Wendl. (palmiste marron) – Rodrigues Island

Species gallery[3]
  • The last surviving specimen of Hyophorbe amaricaulis. This species has a slender, unswollen trunk.
  • Hyophorbe indica is another slender-trunk species, but often with yellow veins along its foliage.
  • Hyophorbe lagenicaulis is known as the "bottle palm" as it trunks swells from near the base, into a bottle shape.
  • Hyophorbe verschaffeltii is known as the "spindle palm" as its trunk swells in the middle. It has black fruits and yellow-green foliage.

References
  1. World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Hyophorbe
  2. Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J. (2005). World Checklist of Palms: 1–223. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  3. C.Lewis, Barboza, N. (2000). ldentity of the Hyophorbe Palms at the Botanical Garden of Cienfuegos, Cuba Palms 44. p.95.


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