 Three species of the genus "Phoenix" are recorded from the Cape Verde Islands, "P. dactylifera" L., "P. canariensis" Chabaud and "P. atlantica" A. Chev.While human activity has almost certainly introduced the former two species, the latter is endemic to the islands.Genetic isolation of Cape Verde Island "P. atlantica" was revealed by microsatellite markers and one chloroplast minisatellite marker to individuals of Phoenix from the Cape Verde Islands, "P. dactylifera", "P. canariensis" and "P. sylvestris", in order to assess the taxonomic position of "P. atlantica" within the genus.