Seychelles stilt palm

The Essence

"Verschaffeltia splendida is the only species in its genus and is endemic to the Seychelles, occurring on just three islands: Mahé, Silhouette and Praslin. Its calling cards are the conspicuous stilt roots supporting the trunk base — a feature that distinguishes it from every other palm of the Seychelles — and the fierce black spines of juveniles, which become much sparser on adults. A solitary, erect palm up to about 25 m tall but usually much shorter, it carries entire, bifid leaves with jagged (praemorse) margins up to 2–3 m long; wind and age split them irregularly along the margins, so older crowns can appear pinnate. Molecular studies strongly support Roscheria, another monotypic palm endemic to the Seychelles, as its sister genus. Widespread in cultivation as an ornamental, it has been called the premier stilt-root palm of the tropics. In the wild it is assessed as Near Threatened, its habitat gradually reduced by invasive plants such as true cinnamon and Malabar plum, though it grows in Morne Seychellois and Praslin National Parks."

Timber was historically used to make water gutters and hut walls, and trunk wood has served as construction material. The species is legally protected in the Seychelles under the Breadfruit and Other Trees (Protection) Act. Heterotypic synonyms include Regelia majestica, Regelia princeps and Stevensonia viridifolia, and POWO records it as introduced to Trinidad and Tobago.