| Field notes | Solitary; with two suckers emerging from basal root mass. Roots reddish brown ca. 1 cm diam. with small white tubercular beginnings to new roots, the roots forming a 30 cm high and 30 cm wide cone at the base of the stem. Stem 207 cm high, 3.5 cm diam., basal 1 m dark brown, apical part green except for the upper three internodes which are white; internodes 5 - 10 cm long at the base 15 - 20 cm long at the top, the leafscars leaving obvious rings around the stem. No crownshaft, upper 1 m of stem enclosed in old wilted leafsheaths. Leaves 8, spreading, sheath 50 cm long, split open halfway, green smooth or finely longitudinally striate. Petiole not sharply distinct from sheath, rounded, green and smooth below, above deeply channelled for ca. 70 cm with a sharp margin between the two surfaces, the upper 30 cm of the petiole rounded or slightly flattened above. Rachis 127 cm long, green, rounded below, above with a sharp ridge between two flat surfaces on which the pinnae are inserted. Pinnae 6 - 10 per side, falcate, irregularly inserted and of uneven width and with number of primary veins varying from 1 to 20, pinna length varying from ca. 40 cm to ca. 60 cm and width varying from 1.5 cm to ca. 40 cm. Small leaves on suckers entire, bifid, blade sometimes as small as 45 x 25 cm. The six nodes below the leaves each with one inflorescence bud, inflorescence or infructescence. Upper inflorescence bud, triangular, 10 x 3 cm with prophyll and three visible sterile bracts, the prophyll wilting and splitting longitudinally but with two obvious sharp lateral margins, the sterile bracts green, splitting apically. Second inflorescence bud 26 cm long, without prophyll and with 6 sterile bracts forming a narrow and sharply pointed cone ca. 1.5 cm diam. at base. Third inflorescence bud 85 cm long, cylindrical 1.5 - 2 cm in diam., sharply pointed at tip, with 6 visible sterile bracts. Inflorescence at male anthesis with erect peduncle and pendent rachis, 7 sterile bracts inserted on the basal 10 cm of the peduncle, the shortest ca. 5 cm long wilted and surrounding the peduncle, the 7th sterile bract 80 x 4 cm, striate, wilted at the top, the interveining bracts green and intermediate in length. An 8th sterile bract is inserted 22 cm from the base, 15 x 4 cm, pale and not exposed but hidden below the other bracts. Peduncle 58 x 1 cm, pale and whitish except for the top 10 cm which one a little greenish, round in cross section. Rachis 30 cm long, with bulbous bases of rachillae. Rachillae 75, 25 - 45 cm long, greenish, male flowers in groups of ca. 10 arranged longitudinally, each with a female flower at the basal end, some male flowers seen with the stamens extended. Young infructescence similar to inflorescence except that all the sterile bracts are wilted, longitudinally split but persisting, the colour of peduncle, rachis and rachillae is green, the male flowers are fallen and the female flowers have developed small very young fruits ca. 1 mm diam. with persisting styles. Older infructescence similar except that fruits are ca. 10 x 5 mm long, light green. |
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