Northern Territory Herbarium

'Bittersweet': These unique trees only flower once in their life — then die

Mass flowering of Gebang palms in Darwin described as 'once-in-a-lifetime' natural event Mon 1 Jun 2026 at 12:35pm In short: A group of Gebang palms, which have been growing in Darwin for decades, are flowering for the first and only time. The trees are monocarpic, meaning they only flower once, and will die soon after dropping their fruit. The City of Darwin will collect the seeds and plant a new generation of palms, though traditional owners are concerned wild populations are declining in...