Corypha umbraculifera, the talipot palm, is a species of palm native to eastern and southern India and Sri Lanka. It is also grown in Cambodia, Myanmar, China, Thailand and the Andaman Islands. A monocarpic flowering plant with the largest inflorescence in the world, it lives up to 60 years before flowering and bearing fruits. Then, sadly, it dies shortly after.

The photos show the giant inflorescence at the top of the plant some 8m tall after the flowers have withered. There are probably a million or more green berry-looking like fruits, which take up to a year to mature.

This talipot palm has been growing near a traffic junction in an area where I often pass by, for a few decades of my life. It looks like 2017 will be the year it returns to the earth, after this spectacular display of new life...

Photos taken in Singapore in Feb 2017. © Richard W J Koh, www.amaranthine.photos, @amaranthinephotos.