Acanthophoenix rubra (Bory) H.Wendl.

Red palm, Palmiste rouge, Barbel palm,Mascarene Islands cabbage palm [W]

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.
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 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.
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[3]

VERNACULAR NAME[3]

GENUS [A]Acanthophoenix

SUB-FAMILY [N]Arecoideae

TRIBE [N]Areceae

SUB-TRIBE [N]Oncospermatinae

PUBLICATION [A]

Fl. Serres Jard. Paris 2(6): 181 (1866)

CONSERVATION STATUS [W]

CONSERVATION STATUS [W]

CR

 BIOLOGY [C][3]

 Distribution [C][3]

Réunion, Mauritius

 USES [W]

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.

 SYNONYMS [C]

Areca cincta Walp.
Areca herbstii W.Watson
Areca rubra Bory
Calamus dealbatus W.Bull
Calamus verschaffeltii H.Wendl.
Calamus verschaffeltii Rollisson
Sublimia centennina Comm. ex Mart. 

 CULTIVATION

Cold Hardiness Zone (USDA) 10a

GROWTH RATE

MINIMUM TEMPERATURE

exposure

MAX HEIGHT

 

 BIBLIOGRAPHY & SOURCES

[3] Ludwig, N. (2006). Acanthophoenix in Réunion, Mascarene Islands. Palms; Journal of the International Palm Society 50: 82-98.
[3] Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J. (2005). World Checklist of Palms: 1-223. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
[3] Govaerts, R. (1995). World Checklist of Seed Plants 1(1, 2): 1-483, 1-529. MIM, Deurne. 

[A] Palmweb - Palms of the World Online - http://www.palmweb.org

[C] WCSP 2013. World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet; http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/ Retrieved 2011 onwards

[N] The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

[W] Wikipedia: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acanthophoenix_rubra

eMonocot: http://e-monocot.org/taxon/urn:kew.org:wcs:taxon:1612

The World Checklist of Monocotyledons: http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/home.do

The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

IUCN Red List: http://discover.iucnredlist.org

  USERS COMMENTS