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Tropical Plant Database - Plant Details
Dictyosperma album
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Conservation Status
- IUCN: critically endangered
- 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
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.
