Coco de mer grows in Chicago |30 July 2013

The coco de mer seed has started to sprout in a Chicago greenhouse

The article entitled ‘Rare palm tree sprouting at Chicago greenhouse’ says that the “Chicago greenhouse is celebrating its success in sprouting a rare palm tree that could someday reach the height of a six-storey building”.

It adds that the Garfield Park Conservatory announced last Friday its staff has sprouted a double coconut palm from a difficult-to-obtain seed. The palm is native to two places in the world, both of which are in the Seychelles islands.

Last year, a 45-year-old double coconut palm died at the conservatory. It took six months to obtain the 20-pound seed. The conservatory staff consulted with experts and planted it using a heating coil to keep the soil at 90 degrees. The shoot now is about 6 inches tall and is growing one centimetre a day.

It's planted under the tallest part of the 65-foot roof, so it has room to grow.