Saw the same artcle and posted it in the tree forum.

Interesting palm.

Other palms die after flowering as well. Caryotas all do the same thing.

Interesting...

When do the seeds go on sale?

"Exploding palm" indeed. What a moronic headline. The press is pretty clueless when it comes to palms, hey? At least it made the headlines, that's great for Madagascar and its palms. But the big news is this is a whole new GENUS, not just a species, a whole new genus!!! Seeds will go on sale (not ripe just yet) but expect them to have a high price tag. The seed will be controlled by the Malagasy people, but sent to Kew for distribution. Good for the Malagasy people to benefit from their natural resources. I will be in Madagascar in March, and have hopes of obtaining seed -- maybe, maybe, maybe. This whole story unfolded on the IPS forum, check it out.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pre-discovery discussion

Actually the "exploding" part was my warped interpretation... I think the headline mentioned "self-destructing palm".

A number of species in many plant families die after producing seed including certain bamboos and agaves (century plants).

I, too, think that the interesting part is that a whole new genus was discovered and that it happened in such a place as Madagascar where many species of plant and animals are endemic.

Sorry for the "moronic headline" ;)

Mike

Mike-- I am very limber, watch me open my mouth and insert my foot!!! For some reason I thought that was printed in the article, I will read more closely next time, sorry.

Still, the headline "Self-Destructing Palm" misses the point; as you say, many plants die after blooming.