Pigafetta

Pigafetta is a genus of two palm species in the family Arecaceae.

They are native to the Maluku Islands, Sulawesi, and New Guinea where they grow near rivers and in forest clearings up to 900 m in elevation. It is named after Antonio Pigafetta and is sometimes misspelled as Pigafettia. Thought to contain only one species, in 1994 it was found to have two; P. elata and P. filaris, both of which are among the fastest growing palms. Pigafetta elata, planted in Tahiti by palm expert Donald R. Hodel in 1981, had by 1990, grown to height. Another P. elata, seen growing at the Sibolangit Botanic Garden in Sumatra by botanical explorer David G. Fairchild was tall, but was only 6.5 years old, averaging per year.