Forest bismarckia

Description

Solitary tree palm. TRUNK 8-15 m tall, 15-18 cm in diam., hard, smooth, ± straight, obscurely ringed with scars, sometimes with aerial roots above the base of the trunk; internodes 8-10 cm, nodal scars 1.5 cm wide. LEAVES (9 in young plants) 20-24 in the crown, porrect, rather stiff, with up to 6 marcescent old leaves; sheath 46-60 cm long, 35 cm in diam., at the very base 70 cm wide, split from 14-44 cm, abaxially chestnut-brown near the base, more distally pale brown with scattered scales, adaxially chestnut-brown, glabrous; petiole 1.4-1.5 m (to 2.7 m in young plants), proximally 7-10 x 5-6 cm, distally 5 x 1.5 cm, abaxially with thin white tomentum and wax, adaxially brown near the base, distally green with elongate scales, shallowly channelled, the margins proximally with spines to 3 mm, distally with minute spines; adaxial hastula forming a flange 3-8 mm high, with a central lobe to 15 mm long; blade costapalmate, 110-180 cm from hastula to apex, 240-260 cm wide, with 54-57 segments, costa to 33 cm, abaxially c. 2 cm wide at the base; segments almost flat, apically bifid for 1-10 cm, with three main veins and numerous close sinuous transverse veinlets, abaxially with conspicuous white wax, both surfaces with many large laciniate scales near the base, distally with few small brown scales, outer folds 88-102 x 1.3-3.2 cm, unsplit in the basal 8-9 (outermost) -20 cm, intermediate folds 104-130 x 4.4-5.5 cm, unsplit in basal 50-52 cm, central folds 114-181 x 4-6 cm, unsplit in basal 80-100 (-137 in young plants). STAMINATE INFLORESCENCE interfoliar, arching, spreading, 230 cm long; peduncle to about 45 cm long, 3-3.5 x 2-2.8 ; cm in section distally; prophyll and peduncular bracts not seen; rachis bracts rusty-brown tomentose, the proximal 42-50 cm long, about 6 cm in diam., the distal 31 cm long, about 1.5 cm in diam.; first order branches 13, the proximal 46-50 cm long, 3-3.5 x 0.6-0.8 cm in diam., with 6-9 rachillae, the distal 40-45 cm long, 0.6-0.7 x 0.4-0.6 cm in diam., with 1-3 rachillae; basal rachillae 29-31 cm long, 1.1-1.4 cm in diam., distal rachillae to 22 cm long, 1.1 cm in diam. PISTILLATE INFLORESCENCE similar to the staminate, rachillae 28-30 cm long, about 1-1.2 cm in diam. FRUIT globose to ovoid, to 5.6 x 5 cm, epicarp smooth, purple-black, shiny, mesocarp about 1 cm thick, rather dry-fleshy, endocarp ± globose, 34-48 x 33-45 mm, the wall about 1-2 mm thick, outer surface with conspicuous, mostly vertical flanges, radiating from the base, one forming a crest along one entire vertical circumference, thus forming two faces, the flanges on the two faces about 6 on each face, branching and anastomosing, tending to end blindly and not joined to the main crest, the flanges 3-6 mm high, the whole splitting along the main crest to allow the cotyledonary stalk to emerge; inner surface of endocarp smooth. SEED closely adherent to endocarp, to 30 x 32 mm, apparently considerably smaller in some individuals; endosperm solid, deeply ruminate; embryo apical, about 6 x 2 mm. EOPHYLL palmate; germination remote-tubular. (J. Dransfield and H. Beentje. 1995)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.