''Acanthophoenix crinita'' is a species of

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae ** List of Arecaceae genera **Palm oil * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music ...

which 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 ...

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

. This palm was first described as ''Areca crinita'' by French naturalist

Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent Jean-Baptiste Geneviève Marcellin Bory de Saint-Vincent was a French naturalist, officer and politician. He was born on 6 July 1778 in Agen (Lot-et-Garonne) and died on 22 December 1846 in Paris. Biologist and geographer, he was particularly int ...

in 1804 and classified by German botanist

Hermann Wendland Hermann Wendland (October 11, 1825 in Herrenhausen – January 12, 1903 in Hanover) was a German botanist and gardener. He was a noted authority on the family Arecaceae The Arecaceae () is a family (biology), family of perennial plant, peren ...

in its own genus ''

Acanthophoenix ''Acanthophoenix'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Arecaceae, palm family from the Mascarene Islands in the Indian Ocean, where they are commonly called palmiste rouge. A genus long in flux, three species are currently recognized, though u ...

'' in 1867. In his 1995 checklist of seed plants, Rafaël Govaerts considered ''A. crinita'' to be a synonym of ''

Acanthophoenix rubra ''Acanthophoenix rubra'', the barbel palm, is a critically endangered Arecaceae, palm endemic to Mauritius, Rodrigues, and La Reunion that is prized for its edible palm hearts. Naming and description It is also known as the red- or yellow- Bar ...

'', as did Govaerts and John Dransfield in their 2005 checklist of palms. However, in his revision of the genus, N. Ludwig recognised ''A. crinita'' as a separate species.

References

crinita Endemic flora of Réunion Palms of Réunion {{Areceae-stub