''Phoenicophorium'', the thief palm, is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the family

Arecaceae The Arecaceae () is a family (biology), family of perennial plant, perennial, flowering plants in the Monocotyledon, monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbing palm, climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly k ...

. The sole species is ''Phoenicophorium borsigianum''. 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 ...

to the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

, being fairly widespread on the larger islands of the group, such as Mahé,

Silhouette A silhouette (, ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhouett ...

Praslin Praslin () is the second largest island (38.5 km2) of the Inner Seychelles, lying northeast of Mahé, Seychelles, Mahé. Praslin has a population of around 7,533 people and comprises two administrative districts: Baie Sainte Anne and Grand ...

, and

La Digue La Digue is the third most populated island of the Seychelles, and fourth largest by land area, lying east of Praslin and west of Felicite Island. In size, it is the fourth-largest granitic island of Seychelles after Mahé, Praslin, and Silho ...

. It is found in forests, but is one of only a few native plants in the Seychelles that can colonise dry and eroded areas, as it is capable of withstanding full sunlight and periods of drought. A palm growing in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in 1857 was stolen, giving rise to the common name of 'thief palm'.

Description

This palm is a fairly tall, solitary tree, with long leaves extending from the trunk. The stems are heavily ringed with leaf scars, formed by the loss of leaves, and bear black spines on younger plants. The leaves can reach up to two metres in length; they have a crinkled appearance due to the prominent veins, and are split at the ends with orange-edged serrations. The leaf stalks themselves may be up to half a metre long and are also armed with black spines. Both male and female flowers are borne on the same tree on an inflorescence that emerges below the crown. Small, oval fruits develop, which are orange in colour and may be up to 1.5 cm long. The leaves of the thief palm provide shelter for geckos and invertebrates as the pleated surface acts as an effective litter trap thus providing cover for small animals. Locals use the large, dried leaves for thatching.

Threats

This palm is adaptable and is able to colonise disturbed habitat; however, some populations may be threatened by fire (on Praslin), development, or invasive species. The harvesting of leaves is generally carried out in a semi-sustainable manner although local over-exploitation may occur.Gerlach, J. (2002) ''Pers. comm.'', via

ARKive ARKive was a global initiative with the mission of "promoting the conservation of the world's threatened species, through the power of wildlife imagery", which it did by locating and gathering films, photographs and audio recordings of the wor ...

Conservation

Significant populations are protected in the Morne Seychellois National Park, and the Praslin National Park. The Silhouette Conservation Project of the Nature Protection Trust of Seychelles manages the substantial population on Silhouette where this species is used in active habitat restoration programmes.

References

* *

External links

* Verschaffeltiinae Trees of Seychelles Near threatened plants Monotypic Arecaceae genera Endemic flora of Seychelles Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Karl Koch Taxa named by Hermann Wendland {{Areceae-stub