Hyophorbe

Hyophorbe
	Hyophorbe indica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Arecales
Family:	Arecaceae
Subfamily:	Arecoideae
Tribe:	Chamaedoreeae
Genus:	Hyophorbe; Gaertn.
Synonyms
	Sublimia Comm. ex Mart; Mascarena L.H.Bailey;

Hyophorbe is a genus of five known species of flowering plants in the family Arecaceae, native to the Mascarene Islands in the Indian Ocean. All five species can attain heights of over 6 meters, and two of the species develop swollen trunks that have made them popular as ornamentals,^[1]^[2] but all of them are endangered in the wild.

It contains the following species:^[1]

Hyophorbe amaricaulis Mart. – Mauritius, 1 individual left
Hyophorbe indica Gaertn. (palmiste poison) – Réunion
Hyophorbe lagenicaulis (L.H.Bailey) H.E.Moore (bottle palm) – Mauritius
Hyophorbe vaughanii L.H.Bailey – Mauritius
Hyophorbe verschaffeltii H.Wendl. (palmiste marron) – Rodrigues Island

Species gallery

Source:^[3]

The last surviving specimen of Hyophorbe amaricaulis. This species has a slender, unswollen trunk.
Hyophorbe indica is another slender-trunk species, but often with yellow veins along its foliage.
Hyophorbe lagenicaulis is known as the "bottle palm" as it trunks swells from near the base, into a bottle shape.
Hyophorbe verschaffeltii is known as the "spindle palm" as its trunk swells in the middle. It has black fruits and yellow-green foliage.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Hyophorbe
^ Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J. (2005). World Checklist of Palms: 1–223. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
^ C.Lewis, Barboza, N. (2000). ldentity of the Hyophorbe Palms at the Botanical Garden of Cienfuegos, Cuba Palms 44. p.95.