Mammoth palm
Mammoth palm is one of the most common species of trees in the Amazon rainforest. It can grow up to 25 m in height, and to support the trunk in the muddy forest soil, it develops a large cone of black prickly stilt roots at the base of the stem. You can just see them on the palm in the greenhouse.
The palm has its name because of the distinctive flower buds that develop just below the crown. At first, they resemble cow horns but when fully grown, they can be 2 m long and turn like a giant mammoth tusk.
The trunk has a hard outer ring of black fibers but is soft in the center. The timber is used to make fence posts, for house construction, or it is split and then used as floorboards.
The palm in the greenhouse is still a juvenile with wide, wedge-shaped leaflets. As it grows, the leaflets will begin to divide longitudinally and the leaf will get a more wild and bushy appearance.
Facts:
- Greenhouse location: Not on display at the moment
- Danish name: Mammutpalme
- Latin name: Trochetiopsis ebenus
- Family: Palm family / Arecaceae
- Natural habitat: Tropical America