Coconut Palm #1: INFLORESCENCE
Inflorescense of a 4-year old Coconut Palm shows the male and female flowers.
In a Coconut Palm tree, the inflorescence emerges from the crown being surrounded and protected by a long, brownish and semi-woody Spathe shaped like a long scoop. This Spathe protects the flowers as they grow and stay on the tree even after the formation of mature Coconuts.
The Coconut Palm flowers are unisexual but flowers of both the sexes are borne on the same tree (Monoecious). The small but numerous flowers are the male flowers whereas the fewer but large oval-shaped flowers are the female flowers. The female flowers are the ones that would mature to become Coconuts.
Cocos nucifera cv 'Dwarf Malayan Yellow'
Family Arecaceae
The Ghosh Grove, Rockledge, Florida, USA.
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