Pritchardia schattaueri
Encyclopedia
Giant Pritchardia is a species of palm tree
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...

 that is endemic to mixed mesic forests on the southwestern part of island of Hawaii
Hawaii (island)
The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...

, near Kona
Kona District, Hawaii
Kona is the name of a moku or district on the Big Island of Hawaii in the State of Hawaii. In the current system of administration of Hawaii County, the moku of Kona is divided into North Kona District and South Kona District . The term "Kona" is sometimes used to refer to its largest town,...

. This species reaches an incredible height of 130 feet (39.6 m), with a trunk diameter of 1 foot (0.3048 m). The 30 leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 are 5–6 ft (1.5–1.8 m) long and have 6–7 ft (1.8–2.1 m) petiole
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...

s. It grows at elevations of 2000–2600 ft (609.6–792.5 m), where it receives 2000 millimetres (78.7 in) of rainfall per year. It is threatened by habitat loss. As of 1998 there were 12 individuals remaining in the wild. This is a federally listed endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...

of the United States.
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