Fabulous scientific name, easy to remember, think Coca Cola!
Beautiful looking, palm like tree quite similar to a cross between the Sago Palm (its top) and the Ponytail Palm (its lower trunk) except that its fronds are more upright.
Another thought that came to mind was that the upper part of the trunk has a pale powdery look not unlike the limestone seen in caves or parts of exposed hillsides throughout Malaysia.
This native of Northern Australia grows in a hot dry climate (loves the Malaysian climate too!) and thrives on limestone or sandstone, schist derived soils. Its fronds are dark green, pinnate with thin leaflets arranged flatly on the stem. There are some very small spines at the base of the petioles. But in my excitement to photograph the cone, I completely overlooked this point.
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| prehistoric |
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| prized cone |
My best find for the day was this fresh, huge, solitary, male cone which was 'birch' in colour, an elongated ovoid with small upward spines.
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| limestone effect |
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