Almond (Normanbya normanbyi)
Description
Normanbya normanbyi is a monoecious, arborescent palm with a very small distribution area within the Daintree rainforest in north-eastern Australia, it grows in wet rainforests, often along rivers or creeks, and also in swampy areas in lowlands, up to 300 m. elevation. This palm is indigenous to northeastern Queensland, Australia, and naturalized in New Guinea. This is a tall, handsome palm, growing about 20 metres (60 feet) tall, with a 4 metre (12 foot) leaf spread. The trunk is smooth, slender, and closely ringed, and becomes almost black as the palm gets older. There is a pale green crownshaft, topped with a small head of leaves. These consist of many narrow leaflets, arranged circularly around the leaf stalk, which gives it a very bushy appearance, very similar to the Foxtail palm, Wodyetia bifurcata. In fact, the two palms are very difficult to tell apart, the main difference being that N. normanbyi has a silverish tinge to the underside of the leaves. The green inflorescence comes from below the crownshaft, and gives rise to 5 cm (2 inch) long pear-shaped, light-brown coloured fruit. Editing by edric.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum:
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Class: Liliopsida
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Order: Arecales
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Family: Arecaceae
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Genus: Normanbya
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