spreading leaves,
pendulous panicles with ca. 100-150 rachillae, yellow petals, and red fruits. Caryota monostachya is a small, caespitose, understory species with thin stems, spicate inflores¬cences, and purple petals and fruits. No morpho¬logically intermediate individuals were seen at this locality, suggesting that repeated backcrosses have erased any morphological evidence of hybridization.