Paschalococos
Encyclopedia
Paschalococos disperta (Rapa Nui Palm or Easter Island Palm), formerly Jubaea
disperta, was the native cocoid palm
species of Easter Island
. It disappeared from the pollen record
circa 1650 AD.
It is not known whether the species is distinct from Jubaea, but there is no evidence that it was Jubaea either, as the soft tissues used for identification of cocoid genera have not been preserved. All that remain are pollen
from lake beds, hollow endocarps (nuts) found in a cave, and casts of root bosses. Partly to avoid giving credence to the common but speculative assumption that the palms were Jubaea chilensis and used as rollers to move the moai
statues of Easter Island, John Dransfield
assigned the species to a new genus.
Human overpopulation
in the period 800 to 1600 AD led to extinction
of the Rapa Nui Palm. Hogan believes that loss of the Rapa Nui Palm along with other biota contributed to the collapse of society on Easter Island.
Dransfield suggests that the trees may have gone extinct as they were cut down for the edible palm hearts
as food supplies ran out for an island overpopulated by humans
. It is also likely that many palms were cut down to build canoes for fishing.
Despite the extinction of the tree, this palm appear to have been represented two hundred years later in the Rongorongo
script of Easter Island, in the glyph
.
Jubaea
Jubaea chilensis is the sole extant species in the genus Jubaea in the palm family Arecaceae. It is native to southwestern South America, where it is endemic to a small area of central Chile, between 32°S and 35°S in southern Coquimbo, Valparaíso, Santiago, O'Higgins and northern Maule regions...
disperta, was the native cocoid palm
Arecaceae
Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...
species of Easter Island
Easter Island
Easter Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people...
. It disappeared from the pollen record
Pollen core
A pollen core is a core sample of a medium containing a stratigraphic sequence of pollen. Analysis of the type and frequency of the pollen in each layer is used to study changes in climate or land use using regional vegetation as a proxy...
circa 1650 AD.
It is not known whether the species is distinct from Jubaea, but there is no evidence that it was Jubaea either, as the soft tissues used for identification of cocoid genera have not been preserved. All that remain are pollen
Pollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
from lake beds, hollow endocarps (nuts) found in a cave, and casts of root bosses. Partly to avoid giving credence to the common but speculative assumption that the palms were Jubaea chilensis and used as rollers to move the moai
Moai
Moai , or mo‘ai, are monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Chilean Polynesian island of Easter Island between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on stone platforms called ahu around the...
statues of Easter Island, John Dransfield
John Dransfield
John Dransfield is an honorary research fellow and former head of palm research at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom, as well as being an authority on the phylogenetic classification of palms....
assigned the species to a new genus.
Human overpopulation
Overpopulation
Overpopulation is a condition where an organism's numbers exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat. The term often refers to the relationship between the human population and its environment, the Earth...
in the period 800 to 1600 AD led to extinction
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
of the Rapa Nui Palm. Hogan believes that loss of the Rapa Nui Palm along with other biota contributed to the collapse of society on Easter Island.
Dransfield suggests that the trees may have gone extinct as they were cut down for the edible palm hearts
Heart of palm
Heart of palm, also called palm heart, palmito, burglar's thigh, chonta, palm cabbage or swamp cabbage, is a vegetable harvested from the inner core and growing bud of certain palm trees Heart of palm, also called palm heart, palmito, burglar's thigh, chonta, palm cabbage or swamp cabbage, is a...
as food supplies ran out for an island overpopulated by humans
Overpopulation
Overpopulation is a condition where an organism's numbers exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat. The term often refers to the relationship between the human population and its environment, the Earth...
. It is also likely that many palms were cut down to build canoes for fishing.
Despite the extinction of the tree, this palm appear to have been represented two hundred years later in the Rongorongo
Rongorongo
Rongorongo is a system of glyphs discovered in the 19th century on Easter Island that appears to be writing or proto-writing. It cannot be read despite numerous attempts at decipherment. Although some calendrical and what might prove to be genealogical information has been identified, not even...
script of Easter Island, in the glyph