Barbel Palm

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Barbel Palm

Conservation status

Critically endangered (IUCN)

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Liliopsida
Order:	Arecales
Family:	Arecaceae
Genus:	Acanthophoenix H.Wendl.
Species:	A. rubra

Binomial name

Acanthophoenix rubra
(Bory) H.Wendl.

The Barbel palm (Acanthophoenix rubra) is a critically endangered palm endemic to Mauritius, Rodrigues, and La Reunion that is prized for its edible palm hearts.

It is also known as the red- or yellow- Barbel palm, red palm, Mascarene Islands cabbage palm, and palmiste rouge, palmiste bourre, palmiste des bois, palmiste des hauts, palmiste épineux, palmiste zépines, palmiste piquant in French.^[1]^[2]

This palm was first described as Areca rubra by French naturalist Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent in 1804 and classified by German botanist Hermann Wendland in its own genus Acanthophoenix (of which it is the sole species) in 1867. It can reach a height of 12 m. The trunk is slender, with a diameter of 18 cm. The crown contents of about 10 leaves approximately 3 m in size which are arranged convoluted.

1 Threats
2 Synonyms
3 Uses in tropical Africa
4 References and external links

[edit] Threats

The Barbel palm is endangered due to habitat destruction to make way for sugarcane plantations, and its high value as edible and medicinal plant. The palm heart is a delicacy. About 150 individuals occur in the wild on Mauritius. It is widely grown in cultivation.

[edit] Synonyms

Areca rubra Bory (1804).^[1]^[2]
Acanthophoenix crinita (Bory)H.Wendl. (1867).^[1]^[2]

[edit] Uses in tropical Africa

The palm heart (palm cabbage) is edible and much appreciated in Réunion and Mauritius as a delicacy. A decoction of the roots is used as a diuretic. Acanthophoenix rubra is cultivated as an ornamental, also outside its natural range.^[1]^[2]

[edit] References and external links

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (2004) Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA Foundation, Wageningen; Backhuys, Leiden; CTA, Wageningen.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d PROTAbase on Acanthophoenix rubra