Hyophorbe amaricaulis
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Hyophorbe amaricaulis (synonym, Mascarena revaughanii L. H. Bailey) is a hurricane palm of the order Arecales, Family Arecaceae, Subfamily Ceroxyloideae, Tribe Hyophorbeae. It is found exclusively on the island of Mauritius, and only a single surviving specimen has been documented in the Jardin Botanique de Curepipe, which makes this as gravely threatened a species as there is, in any kingdom. It is reported to set white to cream-colored flowers, but years and years of efforts have not resulted in fertile offspring.
The palm is about 12 meters high with a relatively thin gray trunk with a waxy crown shank. It is related to the bottle palm and spindle palm. It is said to resemmble the the green variety of H. indica.
[edit] Sources
- Ian Parker, "Digging for Dodos", The New Yorker, January 22, 2007, pp. 64-73.
- Zipcode Zoo
- Dave's Site, with photograph
- This article is based in part on the article in the German Wikipedia.
