| Field notes | Female. Clustering fanpalm, suckering at the base. Stem to 5cm in the diam, to 5m tall, usually much less. Stem free of leaf sheaths at the base, leaf scars about 8mm distant, stem pale brown minutely vertially cracked Stem above covered with remains of leafsheaths expanded into long pale-brown spines, sticking out at an angle of 70 from the trunk, about 10 spines developing from each leaf sheath, giving trunk a very dense and fierce covering. Crown of c. 15 leaves. Petiole to 80cms, spine free more or less rounded in section, to 5mm in diameter. Leaf rounded in outline, to 75cm in diam, largest radius at apex, 50cm; divided into single fold leaflets to twothirds of length at the apex, and fourfifths of length near oetiole. Abaxial hastula absent; adaxial hastula small pale green. Young leaves with sparse scales on lower ribs. Single leaflets very shortly divided to 5mm; leaves pale green above, dense white-waxy below. Dioecious; female inflorescences more robust than males and with normally fewer branches. Flowers ovate at anthesis, scarcely opening, no detectable scent. Young fruit covered in silky white hairs. More or less mature fruit pale green with few persisting hairs, elongate ovate, to 1.5cm long and 6mm wide, somewhat asymmetric. |
