| Field notes | Caespitose on flat land near river. Stem 750 cm long, 13 cm diam. at base, 9 cm diam at 2 m, 9 cm at top; internodes 38 cm long at base, 20 cm at top, the basal ones brown and longitudinally fissured, top ones glossy red-brown, smooth. Roots not visible. Leaves 5-8, base erect, spreading at top; sheath 115 cm long, closed for 30 cm, margin of open part divided into a fibrous covering that enclose the sheath of the next leaf, base smooth, glossy brown, upper half olive-green with black farinose covering; petiole 20 cm long, 3.5 cm wide, rounded below, concave above with sharp smooth margin between the two surfaces; blade paripinnate, 500 x 210 cm; rachis 480 cm long, green with brown scales on young leaves, black scales on older ones; pinnae 2 x 73, reduplicate, basal pinnae 75 x 1.2 cm, middle 98 x 6 cm, apical 21 x 2 cm, light to dark green above, glaucus below, midrib prominent with 3-5 secondary parallel ribs. Inflorescence bud infrafoliar at first node below a green leaf, erect; base attached to the stem half way round the circumference; prophyll inserted 5 cm from the base, 53 cm long, 16 cm wide, apically with two "horns", bicarinate, green except for the brown cracked margin towards the top, covered with brown scales; peduncular bract 50 cm long, 6 cm wide, lanceolate, long pointed apex, round in cross-section, 5-6 mm thick, outside white at the base, changing through yellow to green at the tip, upper half with dense light brown tomentum; peduncle 14 cm long, 9-7 cm wide up until prophyll, flattened; 3.8 cm wide, cylindrically rounded up until peduncular bract, apical 7 cm tapering from 3 cm diam. to the tip; inflorescence branches 122 originating from abaxial surface only. More mature inflorescence buds with prophyll 51 x 13 cm, splitting only adaxially; peduncular bract 82 x 8 cm, curving and pointing downwards, apical 18 cm forming a solid tip. Inflorescence past male anthesis, inserted at 3rd node below lowest green leaf, peduncle pointing upwards at 45o angle and branches hanging down, both prophyll and peduncular bract deciduous; peduncle 19 cm long, to prophyll scar 14-6 cm wide, dorsiventrally flattened, to peduncular bract scar 5 cm wide, remaining part tapering from 3.5 cm diam., prophyll scar 4.5 cm from base, peduncular bract scar 8.5 cm from base, peduncle green with very dense brown tomentum; rachis 7 cm; rachillae 100 inserted on lower and lateral sides of apical 7 cm only, all about equally long c. 90 cm, basal 10 cm sterile, 3 mm thick, next 50-55 cm c. 5 mm thick with young buds still enclosed in the periant and with scars from 2 male (?) flowers lateral to the female bud (?), next 15-20 cm 5 mm thick, grooved with pits, each pit with 2 scars from fallen male (?) flowers, apical 10 cm 2 mm thick with a few pits and scars, all branches cream-coloured to orange with a mealy covering. Duplicates: AAU, QCA, QCNE |
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