Metroxylon paulcoxii

{{short description|Species of plant}}

{{Speciesbox

|image =

|genus = Metroxylon

|species = paulcoxii

|authority = McClatchey

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Metroxylon paulcoxii is a species of palm endemic to Samoa. It is reported there from the islands of 'Upolu and Savai'i. The species is named in honor of ethnobotanist Paul Alan Cox.[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/640503#page/251/mode/1up McClatchey, Will. 1998. A new species of Metroxylon (Arecaceae) from Western Samoa. Novon 8:252-258.]Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J. (2005). World Checklist of Palms: 1-223. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Metroxylon paulcoxii can attain a height of {{convert|10|m}}, with a non-branching trunk up to {{convert|45|cm|in}} in diameter. Leaves are pinnately compound, with spines on the sheaths, petioles, and leaf margins. Leaflets can number as many as 150, each up to {{convert|8|cm|in}} wide and {{convert|100|cm|in}} long. Inflorescences have second-order branching, with as many as 450 flowers per branch. Flowers are {{convert|5|-|10|mm}} wide, with staminate (male), pistillate (female), and hermaphroditic flowers frequently present on the same plant. Fruits are pear-shaped, fibrous and corky, up to {{convert|7|cm|in}} long. Seeds are spherical, up to {{convert|3.7|cm|in}} in diameter.[http://agroforestry.net/tti/Metroxylon-sagopalm.pdf McClatchey, W, HI Manner, CR Elevitch. April 2006, ver. 2.1. Species profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry][http://theferns.info/tropical/viewtropical.php?id=Metroxylon+paulcoxii Tropical Species Database]

The species is similar to M. warburgii (also present in Samoa), but with shorter leaflets and with second-order branching in the inflorescence instead of third-order.