Lodoicea maldivica


Images
by Aarti S Khale (Id by Pankaj Kumar & Vijayasankar Raman) & D S Rawat (Inserted by J.M.Garg) (For more images & complete details,
click on the links)

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Coco de Mer, ‘double coconut’ palm, Maldive Coconut;  
 
 

Palm tree for ID : 151210-AK-1: Taken at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya at Kandy, Sri Lanka

-This is male flower of Double coconut, Lodoicea maldivica. 

 

Palm tree for ID : 151210-AK-2: At the same Peradeniya Gardens in Kandy, Sri Lanka.

– It is nothing but the very famous ‘double coconut’ palm, Lodoicea maldivica.
There is a single female tree in India, growing in the Indian Botanical Gardens in Kolkata. And the nearest male tree is in Sri Lanka (Peradenia garden). The scientists in IBG said they have to get pollen from Sri Lanka when flowers in both the trees are active. And the pollen have to be dusted over the stigma before it looses its receptivity. And the viability period of pollen needs to be considered, too. The experts here are trying their best to get the tree pollinated and get set fruits. This is the story in 2009 and i don’t know the present situation. I wish the scientists all success in their noble endeavors.
Long efforts have fruited now.
Here is the success story published in Current Science: http://www.currentscience.ac.in/Volumes/110/06/0976.pdf

Wow! Wonderful!!

Thanks … for this information and link to the article! It’s really a great news… first fruits of the species in India!
I am so glad that Dr. Hameed and his team have finally succeeded after long efforts… 

Great reading. When I saw these Palm trees in Peradeniya with fruits, I didn’t know how special and rare they were. 

Very interesting story. Thanks for sharing.
yes and in 2015 the hindu newspaper had run a story of the success. i have seen the tree- nothing spectacular when not fruiting. so now one/i 😉 needs to keep an eye open  when in the garden. Thanks … for reminding and … for the initial story of its rarity. 

Seen at Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka in Nov, 2010.
Posted earlier and identified by …

coco de mer

 

Lodoicea maldivica (J.F.Gmel.) Pers. (Arecaceae) commonly known as ‘Double Coconut’ or ‘Coco-de-mer’ is regarded as the largest and heaviest seed on earth.
Photographed in the Herbarium of Forest Research Institute Dehradun.
Arecaceae is also known to have largest leaves (Rafia regalis) and largest inflorescence (Corypha umbraculifera) in the world.

Yes, … I had the pleasure of seeing this palm, both Male & Female trees in Royal Botanic Gardens at Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Have posted on our group earlier. Will be reposting under this fortnight.
 

 

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I was fortunate to see and photograph this plant with fruits of artificial pollination in the garden. It is a solitary plant in India and was planted in the end of 19th century (1894). Now it has produced fruits at the age of 120+ years but only after a long strenuous artificial pollination by pollen borrowed from Thailand.
Thanks to Botanical Survey of India, A.J.C. Bose Indian Botanical Garden, Howrah for protecting this precious, globally threatened species, doing all the exercise needed to bring it into fruiting and allowing us to see it closely inside restricted area of palm house.
The success story was published in Current Science: http://www.currentscience.ac.in/Volumes/110/06/0976.pdf

Thanks, …, for the detailed inf. & picture.

  
 
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