15_the_circle | this tree will self-destruct in, oh, I don't know, 100 years. or sooner.

[OT from cottage renovations]

this just in from Kew Gardens: the discovery of Tahina spectabilis, a new self-destructive palm genus in Madagascar. these palms grow to a size large enough to show up in satellite imagery.

image: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

"The palm has a huge trunk which towers over 18m high and enormous fan leaves which are 5m in diameter - the most massive palm ever to be found in Madagascar. It has an unusual and spectacular lifecycle; growing to dizzying heights before the stem tip converts into a giant terminal inflorescence and bursts into branches of hundreds of tiny flowers. Each flower is capable of being pollinated and developing into fruit and soon drips with nectar and is surrounded by swarming insects and birds. The nutrient reserves of the palm become completely depleted as soon as it fruits and the entire tree collapses and dies a macabre death."

a terminal inflorescence indeed.

"With less than a hundred individuals, this new palm presents significant challenges to conservationists, especially as the habitat seems so limited and flowering and fruiting of such a rare occurrence. We have very few opportunities to manage regeneration at the site or to disseminate it to botanic gardens in Madagascar and elsewhere. In a way the palm highlights the conservation challenges for all palms in Madagascar, many of which are seriously threatened with extinction mostly through habitat loss."

this tree will self-destruct in, oh, I don't know, 100 years. or sooner.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOU :)