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Conservation Status
IUCN: critically endangered
USFWS: None
Family: ARECACEAE Genus: Pelagodoxa Species: henryana Species Author: Becc. Vernacular: 'Enu, ha’ari gohutu [Austral Is.], ha’ari rohutu [Austral Is.], Palmier des Marquises, Palmier marquisien, Palmier de Nuku Hiva, Palmier de Taipivai
Pelagodoxa henryana has a moderately tall, slender and smooth trunk about 10 meters in height and 15 cm in diameter. The trunk is topped by a dense crown of about 15 large leaves to over 2 meters in length and 1 meter in width. The leaves are whitish below, undivided and pinnately veined but are often split and tattered by the wind. The short and hefty inflorescences are produced in the leaf axils. The fruits are large, about 8 cm in diameter with an unusual form. They are round with a warty or barnacled appearance, corky and light brown in color. Each fruit contains a single large, round seed containing a hard endosperm, said to be edible when still soft. At maturity, the mesocarp becomes soft with a pasty fibrous texture, similar to avocado pulp, with a strong sweet odor. At maturity the fruits fall to the ground where they germinate. Immature fruits fail to germinate.
(Haynes, Jody and McLaughlin, John. 2000. Edible Palms and Their Uses.)
Pelagodoxa is a Pacific genus of uncertain geographic origin. Pelagodoxa henryana is believed to have been introduced into Solomon Islands by early French missionaries from Marquesas Islands, in the last century.
(Haynes, Jody and McLaughlin, John. 2000. Edible Palms and Their Uses.)
Pelagodoxa henryana is a critically endangered palm known in the wild from only a single population in a valley on Nuku Hiva, one of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. Because much of the island has been cleared to make room for coconut plantations, native trees like this have been pushed back into remnant populations on slopes. There are only 12 full-grown individuals of this palm species left in this presumably wild population at c. 135 m elevation. The species relies heavily on cultivation to survive.
(Journal of the International Palm Society. 1996. Vol 40, No 2.)
We currently have 4 herbarium specimens for Pelagodoxa henryana in our collection. Click on any specimen below to view the herbarium sheet data.
Unassigned - collected by David H. Lorence in 1994
