Spindle Palm

Spindle Palm :: Hyophorbe verschaffeltii

Bad at Goodbyes :: Episode 082

On today’s show we learn about the Spindle Palm, a critically endangered flowering palm native to the Republic of Mauritius on Rodrigues Island in the southern Indian Ocean. Its scientific name is Hyophorbe verschaffeltii and it was first described in 1866.

For more information about conservation on the islands of Mauritius please see the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation at https://www.mauritian-wildlife.org

(00:05) Intro(02:05) Species Information(18:43) Citations(20:25) Music(27:11) Pledge

Research for today’s show was compiled from:

Bailey, L. H. (1942). Palms of the Mascarenes. Gentes Herbarum, 6, 51–85. – https://media.e-taxonomy.eu/palmae/protologe/palm_tc_121020_P.pdfBotânico, M. P., & Angyalossy, V. (2013). Is the secondary thickening in palms always diffuse? [Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Science 85(4)] Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, 85(4), 1461–1472. – https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-37652013108612Friedman, M. H., Andreu, M. G., Quintana, H. V., & McKenzie, M. (2010). Hyophorbe verschaffeltii, Spindle Palm: FOR 241/FR303, 5/2010. EDIS, 2010(4). – https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-fr303-2010Henderson, A. (2024). Pollination Systems of Palms (Arecaceae). Journal of Pollination Ecology, 36, 144–248. – https://doi.org/10.26786/1920-7603(2024)782iNaturalist - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?captive=false&nelat=-19.653424450781902&nelng=63.51122182&quality_grade=research&subview=map&swlat=-19.779143834184264&swlng=63.317004655&view=speciesKew Royal Botanic Gardens. (n.d.). Plants of the World Online. Retrieved June 24, 2026. – https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:667456-1Maunder, M., Page, W., Mauremootoo, J., Payendee, R., Mungroo, Y., Maljkovic, A., Lyte, B. (2002). The decline and conservation management of the threatened endemic palms of the Mascarene Islands. Oryx, 36(1), 56–65. – https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605302000091Mauritian Wildlife Foundation. (2025). Annual report: On the activities of the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation year 2024. – https://www.mauritian-wildlife.org/mwf-files/files/files/Mauritian%20Wildlife%20Foundation%20Annual%20report%202024.pdfOrtega-Chávez, N., & Stauffer, F. W. (2011). Ontogeny and structure of the acervulate partial inflorescence in Hyophorbe lagenicaulis (Arecaceae; Arecoideae). Annals of Botany, 108(8), 1517–1527. – https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcr149Tatayah, V., Jhangeer-Khan, R. & Bégué, J.A. 2021. Hy