Once in a Lifetime - flowering of the Corypha umbraculifera

In late 2004, two 79 year-old Talipot palm Corypha umbraculifera in the Singapore Botanical Gardens’ Palm Valley put up their Once-in-a-Lifetime flowering.

The inflorescense emerged in November and will continue to bloom throughout December, afterwhich the palms will die.




By March of 2006, it finally starts shedding the fruits.

 

Hope they were able to grow a new generation from the seeds!

 

Probably, it is not a rare palm and there are quite a few specimens in the Palm Valley. There are a few coco-de-mer (Lodoicea maldavica) seedlings though, sprouting from seeds on an exchange with the Seychelles.

 

Found some additional information about the palms. They were introduced from the Calcutta Boatnic Gardens in 1925.

http://www.bgci.org/worldwide/news/0096/