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Slide Show: Top 10 New Species Discovered in 2008
May 29, 2009 | 11 comments
Slide Show: Top 10 New Species Discovered in 2008
From the smallest sea horse to a naturally decaffeinated coffee tree, the International Institute for Species Exploration's annual top 10 list proves that Earth is still full of bizarre and fascinating plants and animals awaiting human discovery
By Katherine Harmon
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CLICK TO ENLARGE + DOHN DRANSFIELD/KEW GARDENS
FLOWER FATALE
This massive, 60-foot- (18.3-meter-) tall palm plant flowers only once in its 35- to 50-year life, but to put on such a show saps so much of its energy that it causes the plant to die soon afterward.
The Tahina palm (Tahina spectabilis)—which is a new genus as well as species—was discovered by a French cashew plantation owner and his family in northern Madagascar, reported the Telegraph of London; since the discovery scientists have found fewer than 100 individuals. It seems to be only distantly related to the more than 170 palm species in the island nation, and its closest relatives are found across the Indian Ocean in Thailand, Vietnam and China. Since the species was announced, botanic gardens and arboretums have been given seeds to help propagate the rare species.
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