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''Hyophorbe lagenicaulis'', the bottle palm or palmiste gargoulette, is a species of
Bottle palm has a large swollen (sometimes bizarrely so) trunk. It is a myth that the trunk is a means by which the palm stores water. Bottle palms have only four to six leaves open at any time. The leaves of young palms have a red or orange tint, but a deep green is assumed at maturity. The flowers of the palm arise from under the crownshaft.
This species is often confused with its relative, the Spindle Palm, which also has a swollen trunk. But the Spindle palm's trunk swells in the middle (resembling the shape of a spindle), whereas the trunk of the Bottle palm swells from near the base and tapers further up.
Its inflorescence branches in 4 orders, and its 2.5 cm fruits can be orange or black. The trunk of both species becomes more and more slender as the palm ages.
On Mauritius, the only other extant ''
File:Hyophorbe lagenicaulis.jpg, Seedling stage.
File:2 juvenile Hyophorbe lagenicaulis - Grand Port Mauritius.jpg, Young plant
File:Hyophorbe lagenicaulis - Longwood Gardens - DSC01252.JPG, Adult stage
File:HyophorbeLagenicaulis.jpg, Close-up of trunk.
File:Hyophorbe lagenicaulis, palmier bonbonne.jpg, Rare specimen due to the weird trunk shape (Bras Panon, Reunion island), note the epiphyte growing on the trunk
File:Hyophorbe lagenicaulis, palmiste bonbonne.jpg, Close up of the same specimen (Reunion island)
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 native to Round Island, 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
Bottle palm has a large swollen (sometimes bizarrely so) trunk. It is a myth that the trunk is a means by which the palm stores water. Bottle palms have only four to six leaves open at any time. The leaves of young palms have a red or orange tint, but a deep green is assumed at maturity. The flowers of the palm arise from under the crownshaft.
This species is often confused with its relative, the Spindle Palm, which also has a swollen trunk. But the Spindle palm's trunk swells in the middle (resembling the shape of a spindle), whereas the trunk of the Bottle palm swells from near the base and tapers further up.
Its inflorescence branches in 4 orders, and its 2.5 cm fruits can be orange or black. The trunk of both species becomes more and more slender as the palm ages.
On Mauritius, the only other extant ''Hyophorbe
''Hyophorbe'' is a genus of five known species of flowering plants in the family Arecaceae, native to the Mascarene Islands in the Indian Ocean. All five species can attain heights of over 6 meters, and two of the species develop swollen trunks t ...
'' species is the exceedingly rare and critically endangered '' Hyophorbe vaughanii''. The Bottle palm can be distinguished from this species by its swollen trunk when young; by its much smaller (2.5 cm) orange or black fruits; and by its inflorescence, which branches in four orders rather than three.C.Lewis, Barboza, N. (2000). ''ldentity of the Hyophorbe Palms at the Botanical Garden of Cienfuegos, Cuba'' Palms 44. p.95.
Distribution and habitat
The bottle palm is naturally endemic to Round Island, off the coast ofMauritius
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 ...
.
While habitat destruction may destroy the last remaining palms in the wild, the survival of the species is assured due to its ubiquitous planting throughout the tropics and subtropics as a specimen plant. It is one of three ''Hyophorbe
''Hyophorbe'' is a genus of five known species of flowering plants in the family Arecaceae, native to the Mascarene Islands in the Indian Ocean. All five species can attain heights of over 6 meters, and two of the species develop swollen trunks t ...
'' species which naturally occur in Mauritius, and one of only two that are still extant.
Cultivation
Bottle palms are very cold sensitive and are killed at 0 °C (32 °F) or colder for any appreciable length of time. They may survive a brief, light frost, but will have foliage damage. Only southernFlorida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
and Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
provide safe locations in the US to grow Bottle Palm, although mature flowering specimens may be occasionally be seen in favored microclimates around Cape Canaveral and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater in coastal central Florida. It makes a fine container-grown palm in other locations as long as it is protected from the cold and not overwatered.
See also
*The ''Beaucarnea
''Beaucarnea'' is a genus of flowering plants native to Mexico and Central America. In the APG III classification system, it is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae (formerly the family Ruscaceae). ''Beaucarnea'' is sometime ...
'' (ponytail palms et al.) are sometimes called bottle palms.
References
lagenicaulis Endemic flora of Mauritius Critically endangered plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{palm-stub