Tambalacoque

The “dodo tree” – for years it was believed that its seeds would only germinate after passing through the gut of the extinct bird.

Sideroxylon grandiflorum is a large, long-lived tree of the sapodilla family, with a straight trunk, leathery leaves and small greenish-white flowers. It bears plum-sized fruits with a very thick, hard stone. It grows in the humid montane forests of Mauritius, where it was once one of the typical canopy trees. Today it is rare – a few adult trees survive in forest remnants, and young plants regenerate poorly because of competition from alien plants and introduced animals eating the fruit.

Significance in the country

In 1977 a much-publicised hypothesis claimed that the tree was not regenerating because the dodo – the only bird able to “prepare” its seeds in its gut – had died out; this later turned out to be a gross oversimplification. Still, the tambalacoque remains a symbol of the links between the extinct dodo and the island’s flora.

Where it grows

Remnants of humid montane forest on the south-western plateau – mainly in Black River Gorges National Park (Black River, Savanne, Plaines Wilhems).

More: Wikipedia (en)