A very unusual palm tree has bloomed in the TSU Siberian Botanical Garden - the Caryota Soft. Its leaves, with an irregular triangular shape and uneven edges, resemble the tails of a fish, for which the tree was named “fishtail”. This palm tree blooms only once in a lifetime, but for several years.

Caryota Soft is native to Southeast Asia and is now widely used in outdoor gardening in tropical countries and in interior gardening.

When the fishtail palm tree blooms only once in its life, the first inflorescence grows from the very top of the trunk, and with the end of its flowering, other inflorescences begin to bloom one after another down the trunk. The inflorescence is the last to bloom almost at ground level. After all the inflorescences on the trunk have faded and the fruits ripen, the trunk dies, but several new daughter shoots grow nearby, which will begin to bloom in a few years.

- The fruits of this palm tree are poisonous and are not used for food, but the young unopened leaves are quite tasty stewed,- said the Botanical Garden staff. - In the countries where this palm tree grows, the local population often cuts off the inflorescences and collects dripping sweet juice - it is then evaporated for palm syrup or fermented.

In the TSU Botanical Garden, there are several specimens of fishtail palm trees, but they are mostly located away from the excursion path and not visible to visitors. This year, for the first time, a palm tree bloomed in the excursion zone, so that guests will see its interesting inflorescences, reminiscent of African braids.

You can see the flowering of the fishtail palm in the Siberian Botanical Garden over the next two weeks - on Saturdays and Sundays, from 10.00 to 17.00.

Note. You can visit to the Botanical Garden in the format of independent excursions (without a guide), with a mask obligatory.