Quarter coconut

Description

Palm with solitary, columnar stem, 2–5 m tall and 16–18 cm diam. Leaves 8–12 in the crown, somewhat plumose, spirally arranged and divergent in the crown, about 3 m long; sheath fibrous on the margins 70–138 cm long, pseudopetiole 27–64 cm long, true petiole short, absent to 11 × 3.5–4 cm and 1.5–2 cm thick; rachis 2.4–4 m long; leaflets 104–131 on each side of the rachis, linear with acuminate, nearly symmetrical apex, distributed irregularly in clusters of 2–4 (–5) and inserted in more than one plane, basal leaflets 58 × 0.8 cm, middle leaflets 57–72 × 3.3–4.5 cm and apical leaflets 26 × 0.6 cm. Inflorescences branched with peduncle 56–82 cm long, slightly flattened, 3–4 cm wide and 2–2.5 cm thick with the lower portion covered with a lepidote indument; prophyll 40–67 × 6–8 cm, peduncular bract 110–160 cm long and expanded part 62–97 × 15–35 cm; inflorescence axis 53–88 cm long; rachis 42–70 cm long; primary branches 47–69, 8–47 cm long; staminate flowers 11–21 × 4–7 mm, sepals 3–7 × 1–2 mm, glabrous, keeled and connate at the base, petals 12–17 × 5–6 mm with acute tips, nerves indistinct to slightly raised, stamens 7 mm long, anther 6 mm long, filaments 2.5–3.0 mm long; basal pistillate flowers pyramidal, glabrous, 16–21 × 9–13 mm (apical flowers 8–15 mm by 7–13 mm), sepals imbricate 10–21 × 7–13 mm, petals glabrous, imbricate at the base (upper 4–5 mm) slightly valvate at the tips, 11–13 × 5–8 mm, pistil with short white indument on the lower half becoming brownish lepidote on more mature ovaries, 7–11 × 4–9 mm, stigmas 3, 2–3 mm long, glabrous, staminodial ring about 2–3 mm high, 6-dentate. Fruits ovoid, 3.5–4 × 2.6–2.8 cm, with rougher brownish-yellow epicarp splitting a little at the apex when mature, endocarp 3.3–3.5 × 2.4–2.6 cm, 5–6 mm thick.