| Field notes | Dense stands along river (white water with many inlets of black water). Trunk to 3 or 4 m high, hanging over the river, about 3 cm in diam, heavily armed with spines. Crown of about 10 leaves; sheath heavily armed with spines; petiole 55 cm long, slightly channeled at the base, round below the blade, heavily armed with spines; blade 140 x 80 cm conspicuously plane,with 34 pinnae on each side. Inflorescence with persistent spiny spathe, intrafoliar, divided in 2 sausage shaped segment to 10 cm long and 5 cm wide with the fruits densely inserted; fruits green turning dark purple, exocarp leathery, mesocarp juicy fleshy first acid then sweet, endocarp a thin dark brown layer, endosperm hard, white, slightly oily. A caespitose tree growing in clumps of up to 8 or 10. The base with clump of slender reddish adventitious roots. Trunk upright or bending over the river, smooth, grey, to 10 m tall, about 10 cm diam at the base and 6 cm diam at the top. Crown of 8-10 spreading leaves; sheath 60 cm long, olivegreen, closed at the base 10-20 cm, open and with fibrous margins for the rest of its length when mature, younger leaves with entirely closed sheath forming a tube 10-20 cm long beyond the petiole that encloses the youngest leaves; petiole 20 cm long, broadly channeled above; blade 240 x 120 cm with 48 pinnae on each side (the measured leaf seams to be rather small compared to other leaves observed - but not measured later). Flowering branches with male flowers at the apical 0.5 flowers at the basal 0.5. ?? Inflorescence inserted below the crown, prophyll persistent to only the most early stage? of flowering, and spathe falling immediately upon expansion of the inflorescence, the entire inflorescence light yellow when emerging, turning orange and becoming very conspicuous after anthesis. Flowers in alcohol. |
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