The conservation status of the five genera and 11 species of palm endemic to the Mascarene Islands (Mauritius, La Réunion and Rodriques) are reviewed. All species are threatened with extinction; nine taxa are classified as Critically Endangered and four as Endangered on the 2000 IUCN Red List. Two taxa survive as single wild specimens (Hyophorbe amaricaulis and Dictyosperma album var. conjugatum); an additional seven taxa have wild populations of 100 or fewer. Although the historical phase of large-scale forest clearance has passed, the remaining palm populations in the Mascarenes are under threat from the effects of population fragmentation, invasive plants and animals, and high levels of seed predation that prevent natural regeneration. The advantages of in situ management for the recovery of these palm populations are discussed. Without a long-term conservation programme, utilising both in situ and ex situ management, extinction of wild populations will occur.

Round Island is a nature reserve of great biological importance which once supported a dry evergreen hardwood forest and palm community. Following eradication of goats in 1979 and rabbits in 1986, restoration of the flora and fauna of the island is underway. Since the past composition of the hardwood community is unknown, wood sampies from dead trees on the island have been examined and identified. This paper describes eleven dicotyledons and one monocotyledon from Mauritius known or suspected to have occurred naturally on Round Island, and demonstrates the practical application of wood anatomy in the conservation of an endangered flora.

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