Bottle palm
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Bottle palm ( Hyophorbe lagenicaulis ) in the Jardín de Aclimatación de la Orotava , Tenerife |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Hyophorbe lagenicaulis | ||||||||||||
| ( LHBailey ) HEMoore |
The bottle palm ( Hyophorbe lagenicaulis , Syn. : Mascarena lagenicaulis ), also barrel Palme called, is a species of the genus Hyophorbe in the family of the palm family .
description
The bottle palm is a medium-sized palm with a gray trunk that thickens conically at the base with increasing age (name). The sparse crown usually consists of four to eight leathery, V-shaped pinnate leaves that are bent backwards . This type of palm is related to the spindle palm ( Hyophorbe verschaffeltii ) and grows very slowly. It can withstand temperatures between 4 ° C and 28 ° C, is extremely sensitive to frost and needs a lot of sun; the soil must be moist. Young plants have red-rimmed leaves and petioles.
The plant blooms for the first time when it is eight to ten years old; the numerous flowers are white-yellowish and grow on stems from the crown. The small, round fruits change color from green to black with age; they are used as pig feed (Greek hys "pig", phorbe "feed"; lagenos "bottle", kaulos "trunk"). The seeds take four to six months to germinate.
distribution
The bottle palm is an endemic species on Round Island , an island 30 km off the northern tip of Mauritius . Almost extinct there due to goat and rabbit husbandry, it is now cultivated throughout the tropics and, due to its unusual shape, is often sold as a garden or houseplant .
Web links
- Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew: Bibliography of the Hyophorbe palm trees on the Mascarene Mountains
- Hyophorbe lagenicaulis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: Page, W, 1998. Accessed March 12, 2012th