A flowering Talipot Palm, which is the national tree of Sri Lanka, has been the focus of attention for the past couple of months right here in Trinidad.

Many people have been stopping at the San Juan home of 53-year-old Martin Salandy to enquire about the rare and impressive sight in his backyard, which can be seen from miles away.

The Express visited Salandy yesterday at his home on St Joseph Street, where the majestic tree was seen. He lives with his daughter Cherise, 23, and nephew Kern, 23, who have assisted him in researching the palm.

’I never thought this palm would have grown so big. About 40 years ago I was told to plant it by my parents (Lennard and Doris Salandy), who are now deceased,’ he said as he took the Express crew closer to the plant.

According to Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) the Talipot Palm or Corypha umbraculifears, flowers only once in its lifetime, producing the biggest inflorescence in the flowering kingdom. An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches.

’The palm grows for 30 to 80 years, storing up energy and strength in its trunk to send out this massive inflorescence. After flowering and fruiting the plant will die,’ the BGCI said.

’The flowering stalk grows to 6 m tall and may bear over 20 million tiny cream flowers. The golfball-sized dull green fruits will take almost a year to mature. Gradually, all the food reserves accumulated in the trunk over the decades would be used up and the plant dies. This mode of life is called monocarpic which means ’once fruiting’.’ The palm’s timber can be used for construction, the leaves for thatch and weaving, and buttons may be made from the hard endosperm of the seed. Wine can be tapped from the emerging flower stalk, sago starch harvested from the trunk and the palm heart can be eaten.

Salandy, who is anxious to see the palm continue its flowering process, said he noticed long stalks growing from the top of the tree in February this year. He added that the stalks started flowering and bearing thousands of tiny cream flowers, some of which are now spread throughout his yard after being beaten down from the tree by the wind.

Zoologist, Professor Julian Kenny, told the Express that the Talipot Palm is not native to Trinidad but rather indigenous to the Far East. He said only a few Talipot Palms can be found in the country, in areas like the Botanical Gardens and at the University of the West Indies.