Record Breaking Palms

Photo by Vinayaraj licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.

Photo by Vinayaraj licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.

I like record breaking species. It is always exciting to find out which species produces the largest or smallest of something. Lately (and rightfully so), the titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) has been getting a lot of attention for its incredible inflorescence. Many have bloomed in botanical gardens over the last few years and each one draws a massive crowd. People flock from far and wide to see that largest unbranched inflorescence in the world. You always see it referred to that way; the largest unbranched inflorescence. That got me to thinking, who produces the largest branched inflorescence in the world?

The answer to this is the talipot palm (Corypha umbraculifera). Native to southern India and Sri Lanka, the talipot palm blows all other branched inflorescences out of the water. Heck, branched or not, looking over its dimensions makes me feel like it puts most floral structures to shame. The branched designation comes from the fact that its flowers aren’t borne on a single stalk but many branching stalks. The proportions of this structure are truly staggering.

A talipot palm topped with a massive white inflorescence. Photo by Cumulus Clouds licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.

A talipot palm topped with a massive white inflorescence. Photo by Cumulus Clouds licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.

The talipot palm inflorescence can measure upwards of 26 feet (8 m) in length and bear as many as 23.9 million flowers at a time. It has been estimated that if you were to lay out all of the branches and flower stalks end to end, you would have nearly 26,000 feet (8,221 m) of plant material. This is truly epic as far as flowering plants are concerned. Even more amazing is the fact that this epic inflorescence is often produced 65 feet (20 m) up in the air!

As you can imagine, producing such a structure and all of the fruits that result takes an absurd amount of energy. Talipot palms grow for anywhere between 30 and 80 years before blooming. Following pollination, the fruits take another year to mature. Once this job is done, the palm dies. It throws all of its energy into one, truly massive reproductive event. Pretty incredible if you ask me.

During my search, I also came across another interesting record breaking palm, Raphia regalis. This species is native to parts of western Africa where it can be found growing in moist, lowland forests. Raphia regalis has the distinct honor of producing the largest self-supporting leaf in the world. Given what I have read, I would imagine that in a dense forest, it would be extremely difficult to take in the full grandeur of its leaves. They are huge. The current record for a single R. regalis leaf is 82 feet (25.1 m) long. It isn’t a solid leaf but rather a compound leaf made up of much tinnier leaflets. To see one in all of its glory would be a truly special event.

Photos 1911 (above) and 2015 (below) showing the incredible leaf length of Raphia regalis. Photo posted by Dr. Thomas Couvreur and lifted from the book: "from the Congo to the Niger" Vol 2 by A. Schultze

Photos 1911 (above) and 2015 (below) showing the incredible leaf length of Raphia regalis. Photo posted by Dr. Thomas Couvreur and lifted from the book: "from the Congo to the Niger" Vol 2 by A. Schultze

So there you have it. Two incredible plant records held by two incredible palms. Not bad for a quick internet search.

Photo Credits: [1] [2] [3]

Further Reading: [1]

The Wild World of Rattan Palms

Photo by Eric in SF licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo by Eric in SF licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

There are a lot of big organisms out there. A small handful of these are truly massive. When someone mentions big plants, minds will quickly drift to giant sequoias or coastal redwoods. These species are indeed massive. The tallest tree on record is a coastal redwood measuring 369 feet tall. That's a whole lot of tree! What some may not realize is that there are other plants out there that can grow much "taller" than even the tallest redwood. For instance, there is a group of palms that hail from Africa, Asia, and Australasia that grow to staggering lengths albeit without the mass of a redwood.

You are probably quite familiar with some of these palm species, though not as living specimens. If you have ever owned or sat upon a piece of wicker furniture then you were sitting on pieces of a rattan palm. Rattan palms do not grow in typical palm tree fashion. Rattans are climbers, more like vines. All palms grow from a central part of the plant called the heart. They grow as bromeliads do, from meristem tissue in the center of a rosette of leaves. As a rattan grows, its stem lengthens and grabs hold of the surrounding vegetation using some seriously sharp, hooked spikes. For much of their early life they generally sprawl across the forest floor but the real goal of the rattan is to reach up into the canopy where they can access the best sunlight.

Photo by Erwin Bolwidt licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Photo by Erwin Bolwidt licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Rattans are not a single taxonomic unit. Though they are all palms, at least 13 genera contain palms that exhibit this climbing habit. With over 600 species included in these groups, it goes without saying that there is a lot of variation on the theme. The largest rattan palms hail from the genus Calamus and all but one are native to Asia.

Many species of rattan have whip-like stems that would be easy to miss in a lush jungle. Be aware of your surroundings though, because these spikes are quite capable of ripping clothes and flesh to pieces. The rattans are like any other vine, sacrificing bulk for an easy ride into the light at the expense of whatever it climbs on. Indeed some get so big that they break their host tree. It is this searching, sprawling nature of the rattans that allow them to reach some impressive lengths. Some species of rattan have been reported with stems measuring over 500 feet!

Getting back to what I mentioned earlier about wicker furniture, rattans are a very important resource for the people of the jungles in which they grow. They offer food, building materials, shelter materials, an artistic medium, and a source of economic gain. In many areas, rattans are being heavily exploited as a result. This is bad for both the ecology of the forest and the locals who depend upon these species.

The global rattan trade is estimated at around $4 billion dollars. Because of this, rattans are harvested quite heavily and many are cut at too young of an age to re-sprout meaning little to no recruitment occurs in these areas. There is a lot of work being done by a few organizations to try to set up sustainable rattan markets in the regions that have been hit the hardest. More information can be found at sites like the World Wildlife Fund.

Photo Credits: [1] [2]

Further Reading: [1] [2] [3] [4]