Lodoicea, commonly known as the sea coconut, coco de mer, or double coconut, is a monotypic genus in the palm family. The sole species, Lodoicea maldivica, is endemic to the islands of Praslin and Curieuse in the Seychelles. It has the biggest seed in a plant. It formerly also was found on the small islets of St Pierre, Chauve-Souris, and Ile Ronde, all located near Praslin, but had become extinct there for a time until recently reintroduced. The name of the genus, Lodoicea, may be derived from Lodoicus, one Latinised form of Louis, in honour of King Louis XV of France. Other sources say that Lodoicea is from Laodice, the daughter of Priam and Hecuba.
Pandanus is a genus of monocots with some 750 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. The greatest number of species are found in Madagascar and Malaysia. Common names include pandan, screw palm, and screw pine. They are classified in the order Pandanales, family Pandanaceae.
The Seychelles black parrot, Praslin parrot or kato nwar is a sombre-coloured, medium-sized parrot endemic to the Seychelles. Historically, it has been treated as a subspecies of the lesser vasa parrot, although it shows morphological, ecological and behavioural differences. Recent phylogenetic research indicates that the Seychelles population has a long history of isolation and may be sister to the rest of Coracopsis. It is the national bird of the Seychelles.
Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve is a nature park and UNESCO World Heritage Site on the island of Praslin, Seychelles. It consists of a well-preserved palm forest, flagship species made up of the island endemic coco de mer, as well as five other endemic palms. The coco de mer, a monocot tree in the Arecaceae, has the largest seeds of any plant in the world. Also unique to the park is its wildlife, including birds such as the rare Seychelles black parrot, mammals, crustaceans, snails, and reptiles. There has been a determined effort to eliminate all the introduced exotic species of plants from the area but this has not been successful in eliminating coffee, pineapple, and ornamental palms thus far. This forest, with its peculiar plant and animal species, is a relict from the time when the supercontinent of Gondwana was divided into smaller parts, leaving the Seychelles islands between the present day Madagascar and India.
The tailless tenrec, also known as the common tenrec, is a species of mammal in the family Tenrecidae. It is the only member of the genus Tenrec. Native to Madagascar, it is also found in the Comoros, Mauritius, Réunion, and Seychelles, where it has been introduced. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, dry savanna, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, arable land, pastureland, plantations, rural gardens, and urban areas.
Cryosophila is a genus of medium-sized fan palms that range from central Mexico to northern Colombia. Species in the genus can be readily distinguished from related genera by their distinctive downward-pointing spines on the stem, which are actually modified roots. They are known as the "root spine palms".
Deckenia nobilis is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is monotypic within the genus Deckenia, and is endemic to the Seychelles, where it is threatened by habitat loss. It was described in 1870.
Nephrosperma vanhoutteanum is a species of palm tree, and the only species in the genus Nephrosperma. It is found only in Seychelles, where it is threatened by habitat loss.
Phoenicophorium, the thief palm, is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. The sole species is Phoenicophorium borsigianum.
Physokentia dennisii is a species of palm tree in the family Arecaceae. It is found only in Solomon Islands. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Roscheria is an endangered, monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family. The genus is named for Albrecht Roscher, a 19th-century German explorer, and the epithet for its single species R. melanochaetes derives from Latin and Greek meaning 'black' and 'bristle', alluding to the spines covering the trunks. They naturally occur on the Mahé and Silhouette Islands of Seychelles where they grow in mountainous rainforest and are threatened by habitat loss.
Pandanus balfourii, also known as Vakwa bordmer, is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae, one of four Pandanus species that are endemic to the Seychelles.
Pandanus hornei is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae, one of several Pandanus species that are endemic to the Seychelles.
Pandanus sechellarum is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae. It is one of five species of Pandanus that are endemic to Seychelles.
The Wildlife of Seychelles comprises the flora and fauna of the Seychelles islands off the eastern coast of Africa in the western Indian Ocean.
In plant morphology, thorns, spines, and prickles, and in general spinose structures, are hard, rigid extensions or modifications of leaves, roots, stems or buds with sharp, stiff ends, and generally serve the same function: physically deterring animals from eating the plant material.
Cycas thouarsii, the Madagascar cycad, is an evergreen arborescent cycad in the genus Cycas. It is named after a French botanist Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars (1758—1831).
Rhizophora mucronata is a species of mangrove found on coasts and river banks in East Africa and the Indo-Pacific region.
Ceriops tagal, commonly known as spurred mangrove or Indian mangrove, is a mangrove tree species in the family Rhizophoraceae. It is a protected tree in South Africa. The specific epithet tagal is a plant name from the Tagalog language.
Lumnitzera racemosa, commonly known as the white-flowered black mangrove, is a species of mangrove in the family Combretaceae. It is found on the eastern coast of Africa and other places in the western Indo-Pacific region. It has one accepted variety from the noniminate species, Lumnitzera racemosa var. lutea (Gaudich.) Exell.
