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The Vanuatu sago palm (Metroxylon warburgii) belongs to Arecaceae (the Palm family). It is a semi-tall evergreen tree that is found in Melanesia in the South Pacific, the islands of Batuatu and Rotuma in Fiji, and Western Samoa in Polynesia. It grows in marshes and other wetlands and can grow up to 9 m tall. It has large pinnate compound leaves with long, sharp spines on the petiole. The fruit is a kernel about 12 cm in diameter with a surface resembling the head of Serpent skin (Schlangenhaut). The specific epithet is named after Otto Warburg, a German botanist from the early 20th century.
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