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

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

in the family

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

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found elsew ...

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

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 some 750 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. The greatest number of species are found in Madagascar and Malaysia. Common names ...

'' 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, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and 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 ...

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 and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

and it was thought to be extinct. It was rediscovered in the Vallée de Ferney forests with ''

Pandanus macrostigma ''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with some 750 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. The greatest number of species are found in Madagascar and Malaysia. Common names ...

'' 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