Hyophorbe verschaffeltii

Taxobox


status = CR | status_system = IUCN2.3
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Liliopsida
ordo = Arecales
familia = Arecaceae
genus = "Hyophorbe"
species = "H. verschaffeltii"
binomial = "Hyophorbe verschaffeltii"
binomial_authority = H.A. Wendl.
synonyms =

"Hyophorbe verschaffeltii", the Palmiste Marron, or Spindle Palm is a species of flowering plant in the Arecaceae family.

Spindle Palms are elegant looking palms that are prized for landscape palms in the tropical and semi-tropical areas of the world. They are fairly short palms with 8-10 leaves that are held somewhat erect. Spindle palms have a crownshaft that becomes a light gray-green as the palm ages. Horn-like flower spikes emerge from below the crownshaft on mature specimens.

Spindle palms are fairly cold intolerant. They are defoliated at 32°F (0°C) and may be killed at anything below that. If the palm does survive a freeze, the next few emerging leaves are stunted. Spindle palms grow in the USA only in south Florida and in isolated favored microclimates in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area and the Cape Canaveral area of central Florida. They do make good container plants that can be protected from a freeze.

Spindle Palms are endemic to Rodrigues island, Mauritius.It is threatened by habitat loss. There are only fifty or so specimens left in the wild, although its survival as a species is guaranteed due to ubiquitous cultivation in tropical areas of the planet.

[http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/38582/all Hyophorbe verschaffeltii] . [http://www.iucnredlist.org 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.] Retrieved: 20 July 2007.] [http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/38582/all Hyophorbe verschaffeltii] . [http://www.iucnredlist.org 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.] Retrieved: 20 July 2007.] Johnson, D. 1998. [Johnson, D. 1998.

References