Livistona carinensis

Bangkoule palm
Livistona carinensis

This desert fan palm, native to Somalia in NE Africa, to Djibouti and to Yemen in southern Arabia, is found along creek sides and in valley bottom soaks, wherever it can obtain some water. It has become critically endangered in the wild, owing to its over-exploitation for timber or clearance for arable crops (and their irrigation).

Its robust trunk is decorated with prominent leaf scars and supports a globose crown of up to 40 leaves, which show grey-green colouration, more pronounced on the underside, due to a waxy, water-retentive coating.

This post is part of The World of Palms Glasshouse Trail