''Pandanus iceryi'' ("Vacoas") is a species of

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

in the family

Pandanaceae Pandanaceae is a family of flowering plants native to the tropics and subtropics of the Old World, from West Africa to the Pacific. It contains 982 known species in five genera, of which the type genus, ''Pandanus'', is the most important, with s ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

Description

Pandanus iceryi - Monvert arboretum visitors centre - Mauritius

This is a tall (10m), unbranched tree - the only Mauritian ''

Pandanus ''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with about 578 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. Common names include pandan, screw palm and screw pine. The genus is classified ...

'' species to grow as one single, tall, palm-like trunk, without any branches. The bright-green leaves end abruptly at the tip, and are armed on the sides with small, white spines. Uniquely, the pale-coloured, oval fruit-head hangs from the main trunk of the plant. Each fruit-head is packed with c.40 drupes.

Habitat

Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

is dense forest on

. It was formerly known from several localities around the island, such as Piton du Milieu, Cent Gaulettes and Fressanges. However the habitat at all these localities has been destroyed. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

and it was thought to be extinct. It was rediscovered in the

Vallée de Ferney Vallée is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: *André Vallée (1930–2015), Canadian Roman Catholic bishop *Anne Vallée (born 1958), Canadian biologist *Bernard Vallée (1945–2021), French fencer *Brigitte Vallée (born ...

forests with '' Pandanus macrostigma'' in 2004. Currently only a few individual plants remain in the wild, although it is now cultivated in Mauritius.

References

iceryi Endemic flora of Mauritius Taxa named by Isaac Bayley Balfour Taxa named by John Horne (botanist) {{Pandanales-stub