On two small islands in the Indian Ocean, an endangered palm with the world's largest seed
Every tree species has its story. Unraveling all 73,000 of them is a significant undertaking for science, in no small part because a considerable proportion of tree biodiversity is tropical, rare, remote and subject to the ...
Even trees well-known to science have mysteries. One is the Seychelles' endangered coco de mer, or sea coconut palm tree, which is now relegated to parts of two small Indian Ocean islands and in decline. Only some 8,200 individuals remain.
What Lodoicea madivica lacks in range it makes up for in size, which frankly made it very hard for scientists—or anyone—to miss. Its seed can weigh up to 18kg. (Some reports say even heavier.)
The seed's size and "suggestive" shape probably made it popular with collectors and royal courts hundreds of years ago (the species is named after Louis XV of France). To this day, seed poaching for black market demand is a menace to the palm's continued existence.
It takes a phenomenal tree to make a phenomenal seed, so it is little wonder the biology of the giant palm tree is fascinating. The coco de mer's latest surprise, published in Scientific Reports, is that inbreeding doesn't appear to be among its greatest threats, unlike many endangered species across the plant and animal kingdoms.
A male coco de mer palm (Lodoicea maldivica) towers above the canopy on Curieuse Island, Seychelles. Credit: Chris Kettle/Alliance Bioversity-CIAT