Spindle palm

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Spindle palm
Young spindle palm (Hyophorbe verschaffeltii)

Young spindle palm ( Hyophorbe verschaffeltii )

Systematics
Order : Palm- like arecales
Family : Palm family (Arecaceae)
Subfamily : Arecoideae
Tribe : Chamaedoreeae
Genre : Hyophore
Type : Spindle palm
Scientific name
Hyophorbe verschaffeltii
H. Wendl.

The spindle palm ( Hyophorbe verschaffeltii ) belongs to the family of the palm family .

Appearance

The spindle palm, more rarely also called mascarena palm, is a pinnate palm that grows relatively slowly and whose curled, light gray trunk thickens in the middle in a spindle-shaped manner with increasing age. When fully grown, it reaches a maximum height of 6.5 m. The open crown with a smooth, green, waxy, shimmering crown shaft consists of 6–10 bent back and often slightly twisted leaf fronds. The crown shaft is thickened at the bottom, which in combination with the spindle-shaped trunk gives the palm an interesting profile. The leathery, 2.7-3.1 m long, green on the top and greyish underside leaf fronds have a large number of evenly, V-shaped arranged pinnate leaves; between 100 and 150 in adult specimens. Younger specimens can be recognized by the yellow to purple color of the midrib of the leaf , which is often lost in older specimens.

Related species and location

The genus Hyophorbe belongs to five species. The rarest species is certainly Hyophorbe amaricaulis , of which only one specimen is believed to exist worldwide, followed by Hyophorbe vaughanii . Other species are the bottle palm ( Hyophorbe lagenicaulis ), which is very sensitive to lower temperatures and grows very slowly, and the less sensitive and faster growing Hyophorbe indica . There is also a hybrid of bottle palm and spindle palm ( Hyophorbe lagenicaulis x verschaffeltii ). In terms of temperature tolerance and growth speed, the spindle palm stands between Hyophorbe lagenicaulis and Hyophorbe indica . It can withstand very brief temperature drops to −1 ° C without major damage. However, the location should have average temperatures not below 22 ° C, be moist and well-drained. In the tropics, a partially shaded place is advantageous. The salt tolerance is high. The palm prefers soils with a neutral to basic pH , as the soils in their natural habitat are rich in lime.

The spindle palm from the taxobox two years later

Reproduction

Cream to orange inflorescences ( inflorescences ) that can be up to 80 cm long, to grow directly below the crown stem arcuately upwardly from a plant. Female and male, cream to orange colored, pleasantly scented flowers appear on an inflorescence. It is therefore a monoecious ( monoecious ) palm. The fruits are initially green and turn orange to red as they ripen. They are about 2 cm long and oval. The fruits of the spindle palm , as well as the relative Hyophorbe indica , are said to be bitter-tasting and poisonous. So far, no information has been found about the closer nature of the poison.

Growing from the fresh seeds , which are narrow and elongated, is relatively easy; the germination period is 60–100 days. Germination should be done in gelatin , agar or similar media.

Origin and name

Hyophorbe verschaffeltii occurs as an endemic species on Rodrigues Island , which, like Mauritius and Réunion , belongs to the Mascarene island chain in the Indian Ocean. Like the other Hyophorbe species, it is almost extinct there due to goat husbandry and rabbits. In recent times, however, the populations have recovered significantly, as the island was cleared of the corresponding herbivores . Regardless, this species is not endangered as it is widely cultivated. It was named by the German botanist Hermann Wendland in honor of the Belgian botanist Ambroise Alexandre Verschaffelt (1825–1886). The fruits of some Hyophorbe species are said to have been eaten by pigs, to which the genus name refers (Greek hys "pig" and phorbe "feed").

Pests

Metamasius hemipterus , a weevil , and the caterpillars of the butterfly Homaledra sabalella are considered to be significant pests . While the larvae of the weevil damage the palm trunk by drilling, the moth caterpillars mainly eat the soft tissue of the leaves and leave behind dead, fibrous leaf veins. This is aptly expressed by the common American name for this pest, Palm leaf skeletonizer . Both pests can be combated with insecticides .

The palm is also susceptible to the lethal yellowing disease caused by phytoplasms and widespread mainly in Africa and Central America . No arthropod vector is currently known.

Danger

This species is acutely threatened with extinction, through illegal removal from nature, overgrazing and through hybridization with the introduced fan palm .

Web links

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