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Voanioala gerardii, commonly known as the forest coconut, is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is a relative of the coconut, and is generally regarded as monotypic within the genus Voanioala. However, a team of geneticists headed by Bee F. Gunn found sufficient genetic variation within Voanioala to constitute at least two and possibly four cryptospecies. Voanioala is endemic to Madagascar, and is threatened by habitat loss. Voanioala is harvested for its edible seeds and palm heart. It is estimated that there are fewer than 15 mature trees remaining.
Voanioala gerardii is endemic to Madagascar, and is found in only the Bay of Antongil of the Masoala Peninsula, in the northeastern area of the island. It is extremely rare.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Voanioala by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
