Mysterious Self-Destructing Palm Tree

Scientists working with Kew gardens have today announced their discovery of a massive “self-destructing palm tree” in Madagascar. The tree has a bizarre unusual reproductive cycle, whereby after around 50 years of growth, the process of flowering actually kills the tree! the colourful display and the production of fruit is so taxing that the nutrient reserves of the palm run dry as soon as it fruits and the entire tree collapses and dies. The story has been reproduced in numerous articles today, all of which mentioned this little morsel from the original press release: The plant is so…

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