Suicide tree can be seen from space
Botanists have discovered a new kind of Palm so big it can be seen from space.
The gigantic Tahina spectabilis, found by accident in Madagascar, grows over 18m high and it's leaves can each measure 5m in diameter.
But the plant has an unusual and spectacular life-cycle, after growing to dizzying heights it bursts into branches of hundreds of tiny flowers using so much energy it dies.
The palm was discovered by Xavier Metz, a Frenchman who manages a cashew plantation nearby, and his family as they were walking in a remote area of north-western Madagascar.
Samples taken from the palm were sent to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England, which found it was an entirely new genus of palm.
Genetic tests on the plant confirmed that it comes from an evolutionary line that was not previously known to exist in Madagascar.
John Drainsfield, a researcher at Kew said: "Ever since we started work on the palms of Madagascar in the 1980s, we have made discovery after discovery, but to me this is probably the most exciting of them all."
