Lodoicea maldivica

#1

aka Coco de Mer or Double Coconut: This is truly a massive palm, though the trunk diameter may not indicate as much. This native of the Seychelles Islands grows up to 110' tall and can leaves up to 30 long (including petiole) and 12' wide- these are huge costapalmate leaves that, when immature, look more like immature pinnate leaves- long, narrow and arching. This palm has the largest and heaviest seed in the plant world- a huge bilobed (typically, though can have only 1 to up to 6 lobes) structure that can weigh up to 14 lbs. The fruit takes many years to mature and the seeds can take years to germinate as well (and often don't, so seed purchases, which run approximately $500, can be a big gamble if your seed never germinates). This palm is endangered and seed is hard to get- many collect the seeds just for display. Plants are very slow growing and even in the tropics takes dozens of years sometimes to form a real trunk. This is a tropical palm... nothing that could survive in a Mediterranean climate sadly.