Dictyosperma

Dictyosperma
Cultivated specimens on Réunion
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Subfamily: Arecoideae
Tribe: Areceae
Genus: Dictyosperma
H. Wendl. & Drude[1]
Species:
D. album
Binomial name
Dictyosperma album
Synonyms[2]
  • Areca alba Bory
  • Linoma alba (Bory) O.F.Cook
  • Sublimia palmicaulis Comm. ex Mart.
  • Areca borbonica Kunth
  • Areca lactea Miq.
  • Areca propria Miq.
  • Areca purpurea Linden
  • Areca furfuracea H.Wendl.
  • Dictyosperma furfuraceum H.Wendl. & Drude
  • Areca rubra H.Wendl.
  • Dictyosperma rubrum H.Wendl. & Drude
  • Areca pisifera Lodd. ex Hook.f.
  • Dictyosperma aureum (Balf.f.) G.Nicholson
  • Areca aurea Van Houtte

Dictyosperma is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in the Mascarene Islands in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius, Réunion and Rodrigues). The sole species, Dictyosperma album, is widely cultivated in the tropics but has been farmed to near extinction in its native habitat.[3] It is commonly called princess palm or hurricane palm, the latter owing to its ability to withstand strong winds by easily shedding leaves.[4] It is closely related to, and resembles, palms in the genus Archontophoenix.[4] The genus is named from two Greek words meaning "net" and "seed" and the epithet is Latin for "white", the common color of the crownshaft at the top of the trunk.

  1. ^ H.A. Wendland & Drude, Linnaea 39:181. 1875 Type:D. album
  2. ^ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  3. ^ Dictyosperma album, Floridata website (accessed March 19, 2008)
  4. ^ a b Riffle, Robert L. and Craft, Paul (2003) An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms. Portland: Timber Press. ISBN 0-88192-558-6 / ISBN 978-0-88192-558-6