Champagne palm

Description

Hyophorbe indica, known commonly as palmier bâtard, palmiste poison, or champagne palm, is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is endemic to the island of Réunion. It is threatened by habitat loss. The trunk of the tree is slender and is about 10 metres (33 ft) in height. It resembles the related Hyophorbe amaricaulis and Hyophorbe vaughanii, but with an inflorescence that branches in four (rather than three) orders, and orange-red fruits. The palm comes in 2 colours: The green one grows in the east coast of the Réunion, while the red one is endemic to Tampon region. The palm can be found growing in moist forests on the elevation of 175–600 metres (574–1,969 ft). 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 that have made them popular as ornamentals, but all of them are endangered in the wild.