| Field notes | Single with 1 - 3 well developed suckers at the base. Aerial roots well developed, to 8 mm thick, reddish brown at first, with nodules, forming a small cone up to 50 cm high. Stem 230 cm high, 4 cm diam., smooth, brownish, with nodes ca. 14 cm apart. Leaves 7, erect. Sheath ca. 50 cm long, outer sheath open until 10 cm from the base, inner ones more or less closed. Petiole 80 cm long, not clearly separated from the sheath, rounded below, deeply channelled especially towards the base, subterete at the apex. Rachis 113 cm long, rounded below, ridged above. Pinna 15 per side, unequal, each one with 1 - 4 primary nerves, except for the apical ones which have 16, basal pinnae suberect, 32 x 1 cm, middle pinna 56 x 6 cm, apical pinna 54 x 21 cm, all pinnae sigmoid, arranged in one plane except for the basal ones. Every node fertile; lowest node with immature pendulous infructescence, peduncle 64 cm long with 7 bract scars, bracts decaying, somewhat persistent, longest bract 87 cm long (5th bract) rachis 20 cm long, rachillae 66, spirally arranged, densely inserted, 38 cm long proximally, 24 cm long distally, green, swollen at the base, immature fruits green 1 x 0.5 cm; 2nd node inflorescence horizontal at pistillate anthesis (protandrous), green, otherwise like the immature infructescence; 3rd node with erect yellow inflorescence just before male anthesis; 4th and consecutive nodes with erect green buds, lowest bud 75 cm long, round in cross section, with 6 visible peduncular bracts including the prophyll, consecutive buds progressively smaller. |
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