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Conservation Status
IUCN: not evaluated
USFWS: None
David Lorence, PhD, NTBG Director of Science, talking about Dictyosperma album
Family: ARECACEAE Genus: Dictyosperma Species: album Species Author: (Bory) Scheff. Vernacular: Princess Palm Synonyms: D. rubrum, D. album var. rubrum
Attractive, tall (to about 10m or more) feather palm with prominent whitish crownshaft and swollen at the base of the trunk. It is quite a variable species, with several very distinct (and colourful) varieties.
Princess Palm is distributed in the Mascarene Islands of Mauritius, Reunion, Rodrigues, and Round Island. Three different varieties are recognized: album, aureum, and conjugatum.
Because the palm heart of this species is highly regarded for eating, it is almost extinct in its native environment.
Hurricane Palm gets its name from its ability to withstand very strong winds.
Princess Palm is an endangered species, close to extinction in the wild because the palm heart is highly regarded for eating.
We currently have 2 herbarium specimens for Dictyosperma album in our collection. Click on any specimen below to view the herbarium sheet data.
Unassigned - collected by David H. Lorence in 1995
Unassigned - collected by Melany H. Chapin in 1999
