Corypha lecomtei

Corypha lecomtei (common name Cay la buong) is a species of plant in the family Arecaceae. It is native to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is threatened by habitat loss.^{[citation needed]} Although known locally for centuries, it was formally described in 1916 by the botanist Odoardo Beccari.

Corypha lecomtei
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Arecales
Family:	Arecaceae
Genus:	Corypha
Species:	C. lecomtei
Binomial name
Corypha lecomtei Becc. ex Lecomte

Corypha lecomtei is one of the species used to make palm-leaf manuscripts.^[1]

Description

This palm species has a trunk 3.5–4 m (11–13 ft) high and up to a full 1 m (3 ft 3 in) thick, and the palmate leaves are even larger, with petioles up to 8.8 m (29 ft) long^[2](exceeded only by Musa ingens and Lodoicea) and canaliculated (round in cross-section with a deep groove on the upper surface). The leaf blade, or lamela, is 3.5–4 m (11–13 ft) in length.^[3] The crown spread at up to 27 m (89 ft) is second only to Lodoicea among monocots. The inflorescence, a panicle, is very large, up to 12 m (39 ft) height, of which the peduncle is 1.5–2 m (4 ft 11 in – 6 ft 7 in) with the remainder being the panicle per se. The width is about 6 m (20 ft).^[4] The plant flowers and fruits only once (monocarpy), at between 15 and 30 years of age, and then dies.^[3] The fruit is brownish and 7–8 cm (2.8–3.1 in) long and almost as wide.^[5]