| Field notes | Caespitose palm tree. Largest stem in clump of 8 collected. Stem 7.5 m from base to lower most pinnae . Piana at breast height 7 cm, stem smooth, grey and light grey pattern from crustaceous lichens, with visible leafscars ca 1 cm broad. Internodes to 20 cm long, decreasing in lenght to 2 cm below leaves. Number of leaves 5 plus 1 juvenile leaf. Leafsheath encircling stem basally and sheathing for 50 cm., yellow to brown spotted yellow or green apically, margins of non sheathing parts splitting in fibrous mesh. Petiole 15-20 cm, convex-concave, largest diam 2.7 cm. Rachis 227 cm long, flattened above for proximal 117 cm (see c.s.), then with edge above. Rachis twisting ca 45° continously to apical pinnae, reddish-green, smooth. Pinnae inserted. Regularly distributed, minor displacements makes pinnae alternate in some parts and opposite in others. Number of pinnae 2 x 52. Largest pinnae 63 x 3.5 cm. Inflorescences 4 in all stages from just appeured to old infructescences with all fruits shed. Inflorescence erect held at a nearly horizontal position, when appering bright cream, later becoming pink and finally the infructescence is purple. Peduncle 19 cm long with broad base partly encircling the stem, slightly flattened in c.s. and elliptic, diam. of c.s. at first rachillae 28 x 1.2. Prophyll, bicarinate, 24 cm long splitting adoxially to ca the middle. Sheating bract, 1 m long, reddish-brown outside, yellow inside coriaceous. Number of non sheathing, sterile bracts, 5 basal most ones 43 x 3 cm long, others decreasing in size towards the basal rachillae. Rachis 50 cm, rachillae 84, each subtended by bract develloping continously and cucreasing in size to finally 4 cm of the basal ones in the infructescence. Bract in all stages of the inflorescences decreasing in size towards the apex. Rachillae 46 cm long and flattened and ca. 0.5 cm broad basally. Flowers in triads of two basal male flowers overtopped by female flower, apical most 9 cm with only male flowers,. Female flowers pinkish white. Fruits green, globular, 0.9 cm in diam. Buds and flowers in different developmental stages collected. |
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