Voanioala
Encyclopedia
Voanioala gerardii, commonly known as the Forest Coconut, is a species of flowering plant
in the Arecaceae
family. It is a large Coconut
relative that is monotypic
within the genus Voanioala.
It is endemic to Madagascar
.
It is threatened by habitat loss, and it is estimated that there are fewer than ten mature trees remaining.
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
in the Arecaceae
Arecaceae
Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...
family. It is a large Coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
relative that is monotypic
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
within the genus Voanioala.
It is endemic to Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
.
It is threatened by habitat loss, and it is estimated that there are fewer than ten mature trees remaining.
Source
- Dransfield, J. & Beentje, H.J.Henk Jaap BeentjeHenk Jaap Beentje is a Dutch botanist. In 1978 he obtained a masters in biology at the University of Amsterdam. He obtained his PhD at the Wageningen Agricultural University on the thesis A monograph on Strophanthus DC. , prepared under the direction of Hendrik de Wit and A.J.M. Leeuwenberg, in...
1998. Voanioala gerardii. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 20 July 2007.