Chilean wine palm  (Jubaea chilensis)

Description

Although described somewhat disdainfully by Charles Darwin as a “very ugly tree”, many consider the Chilean wine palm to be one of the most magnificent palms in the world (3) (4). Its immense dark-grey trunk grows to a vast height and often has a swollen region near the base that generally tapers towards the crown (3) (5). The dense crown supports between 40 and 50 green or blue grey, pinnate leaves, which on dying, fall cleanly to the ground rather than persisting on the stem. Borne amongst the leaves, the large inflorescences hang pendulously and comprise separate male and female flowers (3). The spherical fruit are yellow or brown, and, like a coconut, have a nut-like shell with three "eyes" through which the seed germinate (3) (5).

Darwin Now is the British Council's contribution to the international celebration of the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth and the 150 year anniversary of the publication of On The Origin of Species
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