Last wild hurricane palm of its kind falls, marking extinction

The last wild Round Island hurricane palm, a rare tree native to Mauritius, snapped during a windstorm in mid-September, marking its extinction.  Once thriving on a tiny island in the Indian Ocean, the tree had stood alone for decades as the only survivor of its kind. Standing 9 meters (30 feet) tall, the Dictyosperma album var. conjugatum hurricane palm was known for its pale blue-tinted fronds and dense crown, and described as “breathtaking” by rare-palm enthusiasts. “The tree was like the Eiffel Tower of Round Island. Anybody working on plants, reptiles, seabirds, or invertebrates would say, ‘We’ve got to go see it,’” Vikash Tatayah, conservation director of the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, told Mongabay by phone. It was native to the 1.7-square-kilometer (0.7-square-mile) Round Island, a strategic conservation area for Mauritius due to its high number of rare, endemic species, including reptiles and birds. The foundation has been working to save the teetering tree, and other species, for decades in partnership with the Mauritian government and the U.K.-based Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. But years of decline ultimately took their toll. The trees’ decline began in the 19th century when British colonizers brought in animals like rabbits and goats. The invasive species overran the island’s ecosystem, eroding the topsoil that helps hold palm trees in place. By 1994, only two trees were left; one fell during a cyclone later that year. “It’s almost like losing something forever. It’s really profound,” Malin Rivers, head of conservation prioritization at U.K.-based Botanic Gardens Conservation International…This article was originally published on Mongabay