Lodoicea maldivica (J.F.Gmelin) Persoon

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Lodoicea, commonly known as the sea coconut, coco de mer, or double coconut, is a monotypic genus in the palm family. The sole species, Lodoicea maldivica, is endemic to the islands of Praslin and Curieuse in the Seychelles. It has the largest seed in the plant kingdom. It was also formerly found on the small islets of St Pierre, Chauve-Souris, and Ile Ronde (Round Island), all located near Praslin, but had become extinct there for a time[quantify] until recently[when?] reintroduced.

Taxonomy

The name of the genus Lodoicea is given by Philibert Commerson, it may be derived from Lodoicus, a Latinised form of Louis (typically Ludovicus), in honour of King Louis XV of France. Other sources say that Lodoicea is from Laodice, the daughter of Priam and Hecuba.

Lodoicea belongs to the Coryphoideae subfamily and tribe Borasseae. Borasseae is represented by four genera in Madagascar and one in Seychelles out of the seven worldwide. They are distributed on the coastlands surrounding the Indian Ocean and the existing islands within. Borassus, the genus closest to Lodoicea, has about five species in the "old world," one species in Africa, one in India, South-East Asia and Malaysia, one in New Guinea and two species in Madagascar.

Description

The tree generally grows to 25–34 m (82–111.5 ft) tall. The tallest on record, measured on the ground after felling, was 56.7 m (186 ft) in total height. The leaves are fan-shaped, 7–10 m long and 4.5 m wide with a 4 m petiole in mature plants. However juveniles produce much longer petioles; up to 9 m (30 ft) or even 10 m (33 ft). It is dioecious, with separate male and female plants. The male flowers are arranged in a catkin-like inflorescence up to 2 m (6.5 ft) long which continues to produce pollen over a ten-year period; one of the longest-living inflorescences known. The mature fruit is 40–50 cm in diameter and weighs 15–30 kg, and contains the largest seed in the plant kingdom.The fruit, which requires 6–7 years to mature and a further two years to germinate, is sometimes also referred to as the sea coconut, love nut, double coconut, coco fesse, or Seychelles nut.

While the functional characteristics of Lodoicea are similar to other trees of monodominant forests in the humid tropics, its unique features include a huge seed, effective funnelling mechanism and diverse community of closely associated animals. These attributes suggest a long evolutionary history under relatively stable conditions. Of the six monospecific endemic palms in Seychelles, Lodoicea is the "only true case of island gigantism among Seychelles flowering plants, a unique feature of Seychelles vegetation". It holds eleven botanical records:

• It produces the largest wild fruit so far recorded, weighing up to 36 kg (79.2 lbs), and perhaps as much as 99 pounds (45 kilograms). (although domesticated pumpkins and watermelons can be much heavier)
• The fruit is composed of three carpels which are the largest of any flowering plant (although the carpels of Entada spp. are longer).
• These fruit are the slowest to mature, requiring 8 to 10 years.
• The mature seeds weighing up to 17.6 kg (29 lbs) are the world's heaviest
• The seed upon germinating, produces the longest known cotyledon, up to four meters (13 feet). and on occasion as long as ten meters (33 feet).
• It is the slowest growing of all large trees, although some small to medium-sized desert trees are slower. At the Peradenaya Royal Botanic Gardens, it grew an average of 1.29 inches (33 millimeters) per year over a period of 140 years.
• The female flowers are the largest of any palm, up to four inches (ten centimeters) in diameter.
• The male catkins, up to two meters (6.5 feet) in length, are the longest known.
• The sepals, which grow with the fruit, are the largest known; up to 9 inches (23 centimeters) long by six inches (15 centimeters) wide.
• The leaves of Lodoicea have the longest lifespan of any monocot, nine years to develop in the terminal spike, and then nine more years as a fully functioning leaf. However, adult Lodoicea can have as many as twenty leaves with a potential lifespan of 24 years.
• Finally, Lodoicea is the most efficient plant known at recovering nutrients from moribund leaves.

Of the six endemic palms in Seychelles, it is the only dioecious species, with male and female flowers on different plants.

 

Lodoicea - Wikipedia

https://youtu.be/9usvPsYuVfw?t=555