Species Data
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Scientific Name: Dypsis elegans
IUCN Red List status: Critically Endangered
Description
Dypsis elegans is a slender palm tree native to Madagascar. Dypsis palms are best identified by their aerial branches, which grow upwards from the top of the plant’s stem. Dypsis elegans has evenly spaced leaflets which grow in an arranged pattern along both sides of each branch, which often bend earthwards.
Climate and Range
Dypsis elegans is restricted entirely to just two small sections of humid forest in the southeast of Madagascar. Its total range measures 27 km2 in area and is found in lowland areas between 50 and 400 metres above sea level, growing on well-drained and rocky soil.
Threats and Conservation
Between the two areas it occupies, less than 15 individual Dypsis elegans trees are thought to remain in the wild. As such, this species is considered Critically Endangered, and is at extreme risk of imminent extinction from deforestation and selective logging.
