''Pritchardia thurstonii'' is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the family

Arecaceae The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm trees ...

. 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 ...

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

, in particular the

Lau Islands The Lau Islands aka little Tonga (also called the Lau Group, the Eastern Group, the Eastern Archipelago) of Fiji are situated in the southern Pacific Ocean, just east of the Koro Sea. Of this chain of about sixty islands and islets, about thirty a ...

. 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 ...

. It is sometimes known as the Thurston's palm or the Lau fan palm and is named after a former Fijian Governor

John Bates Thurston Sir John Bates Thurston (31 January 1836 – 7 February 1897) was a British colonial official who served Fiji in a variety of capacities, including Premier of the Kingdom of Viti (before the islands were ceded to the United Kingdom) and later ...

. Image:Pritchardia thurstonii 2.JPG, Pritchardia thurstonii growing indoors in

Waikiki, Hawaii Waikiki (; haw, Waikīkī; ; also known as Waikiki Beach) is a neighborhood of Honolulu on the south shore of the island of Oahu in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Waikiki is most famous for Waikiki Beach, which is one of six beaches in the district ...

Image:Pritchardia_thurstonii.JPG, Pritchardia thurstonii in

Nong Nooch Tropical Garden Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden is a botanical garden and tourist attraction at kilometer 163 on Sukhumvit Road in Chonburi Province, Thailand. It can be reached via bus, taxi or private land transportation. It is also a major scientific ce ...

References

* Palms and Cycad Society of Australi

* Desert Tropical

Pritchardia, thurstonii Trees of Fiji Near threatened plants Endemic flora of Fiji Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Carl Georg Oscar Drude Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller {{Arecaceae-stub