Canala palm (Kentiopsis oliviformis)

Description

A large solitary palm over 30 m. in height, 25 cm. in diam. flared at the base. Crown holds 8 to 10 erect leaves, 3 m. long, with numerous pinnae, (40-55) on each side, a (10 cm.) short, bright, and glabrous petiole, and a crownshaft 1 m. long, light green, and glabrous outside, pale and flaky inside. Phenology: Inflorescences 1-3, 60 - 68 x 21 cm., erect and spreading, heavily clustered, with a short (7-9 cm.) peduncle; with about a dozen rachillae, covered with brown scales. Fruits 14-17 x 8-9 mm. This is a monoecious palm (bearing both male and female flowers). Emergent palm. Trunk to 30 m. tall, 25 cm. in diam., gray, base thickened. Leaves 8-10 per crown, ascending to spreading; sheath to 1.1 m. long, initially densely covered with ± concrescent white-translucent appressed trichomes, becoming grayish with age, glabrescent; petiole to 10 cm. long; rachis to 3 m. long, initially with same indument as sheath; pinnae 40-55 on each side, median ones 80-105 X 4-6 cm., basal ones continuing into lorae, all ± drooping, shining dark green adaxially, paler abaxially. Inflorescences erect to ascending, branched to three orders; peduncle 7-10 cm. long; prophyll and first peduncular bract 60-70 X 20 cm., with deciduous brown-centered white-floccose scales, becoming puncticulate; rachis to 35 cm. long, bearing stellate scales; branches about 18, bearing same scales; rachillae to 30 cm. long, ± glabrescent; bracts subtending branches and rachillae low, rounded, ± ruffled. Flowers in triads nearly to apex of rachillae, bract subtending triad prominent, rounded, lip-like; bracteoles surrounding pistillate flowers low, unequal, rounded to pointed, not sepal-like; staminate buds 5.5-6.5 mm. high, very asymmetrical, pointed; stamens 34-37, slightly shorter than petals, filaments 2 mm. long, straight and not attenuate apically, anthers 2.8-3 mm. long, linear, latrorse, emarginate apically, bifid basally, connective elongate, large, black; pistillode nearly as high as stamens, columnar, attenuate to a sometimes briefly trifid apex; pistillate flowers 5.5-7 mm. high, staminodes 3, gynoecium 4.8 X 3.5 mm., ± diamond- shaped. Fruits l4-17 x 8-9 mm., red; stigmatic remains apical; mesocarp with flat fibers adherent to endocarp throughout. Seeds ll-13 X 6 mm., ellipsoid. Leaves of juvenile individuals spirally arranged; "saxophone" style root growth present.