Scientific Name: Dypsis lutescens (H.Wendl.) Beentje & J.Dransf.

Synonyms: Mascarena lagenicaulis L. H. Bailey

Unique ID: 200

Systematic Position

Class: Dicotyledonae

Series: Nudiflorae

Family: Arecaceae

Common Names

English – Bottle palm

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. 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.

Habitat: Cultivated

Distribution: The bottle palm is naturally endemic to Round Island, off the coast of Mauritius. 

Uses:  Ornamental palm

Other: Critically Endangered (IUCN)