Medemia argun

Botanical Description

Medemia argun is a robust, unarmed, solitary-stemmed, evergreen fan palm tree growing about 6 metres tall. The stout, unarmed bole is topped by a ring of the dead leaves and flowers and then a crown of the fan-shaped leaves. The plant yields an edible fruit and leaves that can be used for weaving. It was cultivated for its fruit in ancient Egypt[ 317 Title Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants Publication Author Website http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Terse details of a huge range of useful plants. ]. The plant was believed to have become extinct and was only known from the fossil record[ 347 Title Tropical Palms Publication Non-Wood Forest Products No. 10 Author Johnson D.V. Website http://www.fao.org/docrep/ Publisher FAO, Rome Year 2011 ISBN 978-92-5-106742-0 Description A terse guide to some of the uses of palms. Also available for download from the web. (Search for "FAO Tropical Palms") ]. It was rediscovered in Sudan in 1995 in small fragmented subpopulations, where there are signs of regeneration[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ]. The subpopulations in Egypt are assumed to be similarly small and fragmented[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ]. The plant has been classified as 'Critically endangered' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2009)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ].