[Taxacom] Identification Needed: Fruit from a Pacific island

[Geoff Read]

Ahah. The source of the reviled 'sago pudding' of my childhood (they put the starch through a sieve apparently to make
the little dry pellets). 
As a widespread commercial crop rather than something endemic the island biogeography aspect wasn't important.

The 'fruit' can be seen at: 

http://www.dkimages.com/discover/Home/Plants/Anatomy-and-Reproduction/Plant-Anatomy/Plant-Anatomy-101.html

Geoff

>>> "Jim Croft" <jrc at anbg.gov.au> 11/01/08 9:34 AM >>>
In this particular case, the sago palm, the source of starch is the 
trunk, not the fruit.

jim

Geoff Read wrote:
>>>> Diana Horton <diana-horton at uiowa.edu> 09/01/08 7:30 AM  wrote>>>
>>>>         
> I am looking for someone who might be able to identify a fruit 
> collected on a Pacific island circa 1940s.  I can provide an image.
>
> Intriguing question. I wonder if it is still edible? But as a Pacific island inhabitant, I feel obliged to murmur quietly that there are more than a few Pacific Islands (some 20,000 to 30,000) and that the bounds of the Pacific Ocean permitting the growth of fruit include a sizeable part of the planet.  Perhaps a more precise geographic designation would be useful in this instance?