The Laysan fan palm is a not formally described, extinct species of palm most likely in the genus ''

Pritchardia The genus ''Pritchardia'' (family Arecaceae) consists of between 24 and 40 species of fan palms (subfamily Coryphoideae) found on tropical Pacific Ocean islands in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Tuamotus, and most diversely in Hawaii. The generic name ho ...

''. Endemic to the island of Laysan, it had become extinct by 1896.

History

The palm was first accounted in 1828 by early visitors to Laysan island. Karl Izembek, surgeon of the Russian ship ''Moller'', was the first to write of the species. In 1859, there was an account of 5 mature individuals remaining. By the time

Hugo Schauinsland Hugo Hermann Schauinsland (30 May 1857 – 5 June 1937) was a German zoologist born in Rittergut Dedawe, Kreis Labiau, East Prussia. He studied natural sciences at the University of Geneva and zoology at the University of Königsberg, obtaining ...

visited in 1896, all the palms had been killed. He blamed human activity, citing evidence of palm wood in charcoal. He noticed many remaining stumps, alluding to a population of several hundred decades before. Evidence of the palms was last observed in 1914 as "decaying remains".

Description

The palms were known to be up to 15 feet tall. Schauinsland noticed stumps with a diameter up to 50 cm. He was told that the palms had huge fan-shaped leaves, long inflorescences, and long fruit racemes, leading to him identifying it as a ''

''. The species was once widespread on the island. Dense forests were hypothesized to exist based on historic palynology. Few photos of the palms are known to exist, and they are not of sufficient quality to allow for identification. No physical collections are known to exist. Based on the photographic evidence, it has been suggested that the species was identical to ''

Pritchardia remota ''Pritchardia remota'', the Nihoa pritchardia, Nihoa fan palm, or Loulu, is a species of palm endemic on the island of Nihoa, Hawaii, and later transplanted to the island of Laysan. It is a smaller tree than most other species of ''Pritchardia'' ...

'' (Nihoa fan palm). Another theory is that the Laysan fan palm was a separate species. This is supported by

George Campbell Munro George Campbell Munro (10 May 1866 – 4 December 1963) was a New Zealand born pioneer of Hawaiian botany and ornithology. He settled on a ranch in Lanai and wrote one of the first books on the birds of Hawaii, many species of which are now extinct ...

, an observer of both the Laysan fan palm and the Nihoa fan palm, who claimed they were distinct. ''

'' species are also known to be highly localized, which also supports the theory that the Laysan fan palm was a separate species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q108739651 Pritchardia Extinct flora of Hawaii Undescribed plant species