''Acanthophoenix rubra'', the barbel palm, is a

critically endangered An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...

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 ...

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- Barbel palm, red palm, Mascarene Islands cabbage palm, and palmiste rouge, palmiste bourre, palmiste des bois, palmiste des hauts, palmiste épineux, palmiste zépines, palmiste piquant in French.Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (2004) Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA Foundation, Wageningen; Backhuys, Leiden; CTA, Wageningen. This palm was first described as ''Areca rubra'' 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. It can reach a height of 25 m. The trunk is slender, with a diameter of 18 cm. The crown contents of about 10 leaves approximately 3 m in size which are arranged convoluted. In his 1995 checklist of seed plants, Rafaël Govaerts considered ''A. crinita'' to be a synonym of ''Acanthophoenix rubra'', 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.

Threats

The Barbel palm is endangered due to

habitat destruction 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 ...

to make way for

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

plantations, and its high value as edible and medicinal plant. The palm heart is a delicacy. About 150 individuals occur in the wild on Mauritius. It is widely grown in cultivation.

Synonyms

* ''Areca rubra'' Bory (1804).

References

External links

PROTAbase on ''Acanthophoenix rubra''

Acanthophoenix rubra factsheet

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2669376 rubra Flora of Mauritius Palms of Réunion Critically endangered plants Plants described in 1804