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Allagoptera arenaria
Also called Beach Coconut, Dwarf Palm, Restinga Palm
Allagoptera arenaria, popularly known as seashore palm, is a fruit tree native to the Atlantic Coast of Brazil. It grows in coastal strand, just above the high tide mark, and is widely cultivated as an ornamental throughout South America.
Allagoptera arenaria is relatively short, reaching about 6 feet (1.8 m) tall. The plant is monoecious, with male and female plants in distinct spirals in the same spike. The leaves emerge right out of the ground from a subterranean trunk that is rarely visible, and grow in a swirling pattern, spreading out on different and seemingly random planes. There are 6–15 bright green to silvery green pinnately compound (feather-like) leaves 2–6 ft (0.61–1.83 m) long, with each leaflet about 2 ft (0.61 m) long. Its fruits are yellowish green and shaped like small coconuts, about 1 inch (25 mm) long and 0.5 in (13 mm) in diameter.
Allagoptera arenaria is cultivated extensively in South America for the edible fruits which are eaten fresh or made into a drink or jam. The leaves are used to make baskets and other woven objects.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Allagoptera arenaria by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
