to 1 order. Flowers and fruit Ravenea musicalis is dioecious and pleonanthic, like all Ravenea species. The flowers of R. musicalis open prior to the opening of the inflorescence. Little information exists on the flowers of this species, since no known expeditions took place during flowering season. The fruits of R. musicalis are orange and round, about 14–23 mm in diameter. Though most fruits in the genus Ravenea have a fleshy mesocarp, R. musicalis has a spongy mesocarp, allowing the fruits to float and rot. A single brown seed, which germinates within the fruit, is 10–14 mm across with a hard, black seed coat. The germinated seed has a half-inch long hooked seed leaf, and when the seed sinks, the hook catches on the riverbed, allowing the seedling to establish itself. This of course is always downstream. None of the references deals with the issue of how the palms reached the headwaters in the first place, but birds or fruit bats are probably involved. Uses Palm trees play a vital role in the lives of Malagasy peoples. R. musicalis is known to be harvested by local people for building materials and food. In the wet season, the wood is often used to build temporary canoes known as pirogues. In the learner dry season, the heart of the tree is harvested for edible palm hearts. This tree, like many palms, can be used for timber, fronds, and rattan. Additionally, palms like R. musicalis, can be used as a source of wax for cosmetics and be used in the kitchen in a variety of ways as source of oil, sugar, jams, heart-of-palm, etc. R. musicalis is also sought after by foreign horticulturists for their seeds due to the plant's rarity and unique life history. R. musicalis is reportedly very difficult to cultivate, since the seeds need to germinate in water, and they rot if not cleaned after collection. Conservation An assessment done in 2012 by Rakotoarinivo and Dransfield estimated that all members of Ravenea musicalis lived in a single population of around 450 individuals within the Belavenoka River. As a result, the IUCN currently has the species listed as "Critically Endangered." However, a second expedition done in 2014 by Hogg and Henshall uncovered two additional populations of R. musicalis in the Ebakika River and the Vatomirindry River, as well as upping the estimated size of the population within the Belavenoka River. The