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Rare Three-Headed Palm Found in WFSU's Front Yard

The phrase one-of-a-kind may be over used now-a-days, but in front of WFSU's building stands a palm tree that may be a pretty good contender for that title.

"Because of where the heads are coming from, from the crown as opposed to from the soil, it makes it that much rarer, in most cases when it's a double or triple palm all the different trunks will come from the soil. It is very very unusual." says Lynn Gustafson with East Marsh Nursery in South Florida. 

FSU Facilities created a page on their website in honor of the Pindo Palm. They say it even produces an edible fruit that, "is sometimes made into jelly-which is why it is also nick-named 'Jelly Palm'. The fruit turns orange when ripe and has a flavor that has been described as being sweet yet also tart , reminiscent of both apricots and a pineapple-banana mixture."

Gustafson goes on to say this particular palm is about as rare as a three-headed snake and about as priceless as a Van Gogh painting found in someone's garage. She says it's symmetry makes it a truly beautiful specimen. Unfortunately, the chances of any baby three-headed palms are slim to none. Any seeds the plant produces probably won't take after their parent. The WFSU-FM Newsroom named it Vincent.

Meanwhile, Vincent has a contender. The world's only four-headed Pindo Palm tree, believed to be more than 250 years old, is located at Historic St. Andrews in Panama City, Florida.