HIPS is proud to host a free public slideshow lecture by Dr. Wolf Eiserhardt, Associate Professor at Aarhus University, and an Honorary Research Associate at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (UK).  Dr. Eiserhardt will introduce a new phylogenetic tree for the palm sub tribe Dypsidinae.  The work by Dr. Eiserhardt and his colleagues was just published in the journal Taxon on August 24, 2022.  While garden owners may bemoan the changes to their plant labels, the effort behind this new classification represents a crucial step in understanding the spectacular diversity of palm species in Madagascar.  Out of the 178 palm species in the large sub tribe, all but four of those are found no where else but on the island of Madagascar.  How is this even possible?  

Learn what is and is not a Dypsis - aligning genetics and morphology.  Along the way you will have a chance to test your retention and win some of these Madagascar palms to take home with you.

For extra credit, check out the original paper, Phylogenomics and generic limits of Dypsidinae (Arecaceae), the largest palm radiation in Madagascar.