Red lemur palm (Lemurophoenix halleuxii)

Description

An immense palm. Trunk to 20 m tall, at base about 1 m in diam., higher up about 50 cm in diam., pale brown, leaf scars about 10 cm apart. Leaf to 4.5 m long; crownshaft about 1.5 m long, about 50 cm in diam., the leaf-sheath greyish pink when newly exposed, bearing scattered dark brown peltate scales and abundant white wax; petiole to 25 cm long, about 10 cm wide and 5 cm thick at the base; leaflets very regular, about 60 on each side of the rachis, stiff, rich dark green, about 6 cm distant, linear-lanceolate, the proximal about 65 x 2 cm, in mid leaf about 95 x 6 cm, decreasing abruptly in size to 17 x 0.7 cm near the tip; rachis when young bright crimson, young blade flushed red. Inflorescence very robust, about 2 m long; peduncle c. 50 cm long, grossly swollen and winged to about 35 cm wide at the base, decreasing to 10 x 4.5 cm near the insertion of the first branch, the surface densely covered with rough brown scales; prophyll and peduncular bract abaxially bright crimson, cream-coloured within; prophyll to 90 cm, splitting along one side, inserted about 15 cm above the base of the peduncle; peduncular bract to 120 cm long, inserted about 10 cm above the prophyll insertion; first-order branches about 12-15, the basal devoid of branches in the basal 20-25 cm, to 4-5 cm thick; rachillae about 110, cream-coloured at anthesis, becoming green, to 40 cm long, about 8-9 mm. in diam., somewhat swollen, with flowers partially embedded in shallow pits about 6-10 mm apart, rachilla surface minutely papillose and scaly; rachilla bracts about 2 x 8 mm, fleshy. Staminate flower-bud pale greenish brown, about 8 x 5 mm, at anthesis the flower with a spread of about 14 mm; sepals connate in the basal 0-8 mm, about 3.5 x 6 mm, about 2 mm thick at the keel, the margin minutely ciliate, otherwise glabrous; petals about 7 X 3 mm, pale brown, later the floral receptacle carrying the petal bases about 4 mm above the calyx, the petals becoming reflexed by a pulvinus to 1.5 mm thick at the petal bases; stamens 52-59, borne on the receptacle about 4-5 mm wide, filaments 2-4 x 0.1 mm, anthers about 2 x 0.5 mm; pistillode, about 1.5 x 0.2 mm, hidden among the filament bases. Pistillate flower in immature bud, about 4-5 mm in diam.; sepals about 3.5 x 4.5 mm in diam.; petals about 3.5 mm long; staminodes 10-12, 0.4 x 0-2 mm; gynoecium about 2.5 X 1.5 mm. Fruit chestnut brown, globose, at maturity about 50 mm in diam., the epicarp cracked into corky warts less than 1 mm high and 2.5 mm across; mesocarp about 8 mm thick, whitish; endocarp spherical, about 33 mm in diam., 1 mm thick, deep brown, with a basal heart-shaped pale brown button about 11 x 11 x 7 mm. Eophyll flushed reddish-brown when newly emerged. (J. Dransfield. 1991)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.