| Field notes | Solitary palm 9.5 m tall. Stem 7.10 m measured from base to crown shaft. Base with numerous adventitious roots. Adventitious roots orange-brown, forming a basal cone 20 cm tall, 30 cm indiam. Stem dark green, blabrous. Diam at base 10 cm, dbh. 7 cm, diam just below crownshaft 6 cm. No. of internodes 39. Internodes 19 cm long at the base, 7 cm long below crownshaft. No. of leaves 6 + 1 juvenile. Leafsheath + petiole 95 cm long, transition hard to measure. Leafsheath encircling the stem for 62 cm thus forming a crownshaft. Crownshaft light green, glabrous, largest diam. 11 cm. Petiole dark green, glabrous, cross-section convex-concave, diam. below the basal pinna 2 cm. Rachis 152 cm long, green, adaxially with a prominent mid-ridge, abaxially concave. No. of pinnae 2 x 27. Pinnae regularly distributed, inserted in one plan, green, adaxially with prominent veins, abaxial glabrous. Basal pinna: 57 x 4.2 cm, central pinna: 66 x 6.5 cm, apical pinna: 29 x 3.3 cm. No. of infructescences 5, one in each of the following nodes; node 37, 35, 33, 32 and 31. Reminiscence of an inflorescence at node 39, one but hidden below each of the leafsheaths. Mature infructescence: Base of the infructescence enccircling nearly half the stem. Prophyll deciduous, leaving a scar 2 cm above the base. No. of sterile bracts 4. 1st sterile bract; deciduous, leaving a scar 7.5 cm above the base. 2nd sterile bract; inserted 15.5 cm above the base, brown, 31 cm long, splitting up irregularly to the base. 3rd sterile bract; inserted 24 cm above the base, brown, 29.5 cm long, splitting up irregularly to the base. Peduncle 55 cm long, green. Cross-section ovate at the base becoming circular apically. Diam. below the basal rachillae 1.4 cm. Rachis 38 cm long, green. No. of rachillae 53. Basal rachillae 21 cm long, apical rachillae 8 cm long. Fruits globular, 1.5 cm in diam. glabrous. Immature fruits green, mature fruits red becoming black. Calyx lobed, orange, fleshy. Lobes 0.4 cm long adnate to base. |
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