Staples, G.W. & Herbst, D.R. (2005) A Tropical Garden Flora; plants cultivated in the Hawaiian islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Solitary stout medium sized palms. Fronds deciduous; crownshaft present; leaflets with a single fold, pointed. Inflorescence below the leaves, upward curving in bud, much branched; 5-10 enclosing bracts. Flowers in lines along the branch. Fruit round or elliptic, red, brown or black; flesh thin. Derivation of name: from the Greek Hyos - pig, phorbe – food; referring to the fleshy food being eaten by pigs. Worldwide: Five species from the Mascarene islands, where all are now almost extinct. Zimbabwe: 3 cultivated taxa. |
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| Species | Content |
| indica Gaertn. | |
| lagenicaulis (L.H. Bailey) H.E. Moore | |
| verschaffeltii H. Wendl. |