Pharaonic palm at risk of extinction, again

Cam McGrath in IPS/IFEJ: Environmentalists have called for more efforts to protect the argun palm, a rare desert tree prized by the ancient Egyptians that is on the verge of extinction. Less than 400 argun palms (Medemia argun) are known to exist in remote desert regions of Egypt and Sudan. Environmentalists say urgent action is needed to protect the enigmatic fan palm, which is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List of Threatened Species.

"These palms may be the remnants of vegetation that covered the Sahara over 10,000 years ago when the area was much wetter than it is today," says Haitham Ibrahim, an ecologist at the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA), the executive arm of Egypt’s environment ministry. "They are now critically in danger of extinction…(as a result of) climate change and human activity."

Archaeologists first learnt of the argun palm from ancient Egyptian texts, and its dried fruits were frequently found among the gold and offerings recovered from pharaonic tombs. But it was long assumed that the prized palm had vanished along with the pharaohs.

…But the future of the species was anything but certain. While more of these enigmatic palms were soon discovered in northern Sudan, by the early 1900s it had once more disappeared into obscurity. It was not until 1963 that the species was sighted again – this time in the arid hinterland of southern Egypt. Comprehensive surveys over the last two decades have revealed 30 individual argun palms in Egypt, and several hundred living in northern Sudan. "The argun palm survives, but its population is under heavy pressure," says Irina Springuel, professor of plant ecology. "Unless protected, the species could disappear – and this time for good." ….

An 1878 image of a palm tree stand, exact species unknown