Palms in Rio park flower for first — and only — time

Towering talipot palms in a Rio de Janeiro park are flowering for the first and only time in their lives, decades after famed Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx introduced them in the 1960s.

- BY ELÉONORE HUGHES AND LUCAS DUMPHREYS

THE TALIPOT PALMS in this Rio de Janeiro park were introduced in the 1960s.

(LUCAS DUMPHREYS Associated Press)

Toward the end of its life — which can span between 40 and 80 years — the palm tree sends up a central plume crowded with millions of small, creamy-white blossoms that rise high above its fan-shaped leaves.

The rare phenomenon that ties past to present has sparked the curiosity of passersby in Flamengo Park who stop, crane their necks to admire them and take photos.