Weird torpedo like thing in our palm trees!!!

One of the reasons we bought our new house in SC last summer was because of the palm trees in the front yard. We grew up in CT and the thought of having our very own palm trees was intoxicating!!! But we still haven't learned much about them (it's on the list!!!). Hubby just noticed these very strange things (he likens them to torpedos) growing up amongst the fronds. What are these oddities and what should we expect of them? They're so STRANGE looking, and they're increasing our fascination with palm trees!!!!!!!

This is probably a better photo of the THING.....

I don't know anything about palms, but could it be a new frond, and it's larger at the top because it's holding all the leaves? Just a guess.

Hi,
that is a new flower spike on your Pindo palm.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/57055/index.html

Wow! Thanks, Dave! Told you I knew nothing about palms. LOL!

Here's the specific one which shows the flower spike:

http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/26700/#48745

And here's one which shows the leftover pod:

http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/26700/#49687

Thank you Faeden and Dave!!!!! I'm still confused about the sequence of events, what will first emerge from the pod,and just how the pod will open. And I can make jelly from the fruit????? How cool is that!! I'd love to hear from folks who have done that, and I would need to know at what point the fruit would be ripe. There is a branch on one of the palms that has dried seed on it, which just falls off when you touch it; when does that form? And can you grow a baby palm from that tiny seed? Tell me more everybody!!!!

Read all of the comments just below the PlantFiles pictures above. They will give you a lot of the information you're seeking.

LOL, new to palms I guess?

wow i never knew palm trees were so uuh special... i guess growin up around them, and being an SC native, they just seemed normal. but any ways the "torpedo" is a flower forming. it will bloom and by, oh id say late july or 'round 'bout that time youll have an infructescence full of orange "dates". some people say tHey taste like pineapple and bananas, but i think they taste awful it will drop the fruits, some of which will get caught in the leaf bases and sprout, others will fall on the ground. you can plant these to make new butia capitatas. you can make jelly out of them also. this is an annual occurence, so next year expect he exact same thing. use fresh seed to start new palms.

Yep, this is a whole new experience for us!!! We grew up in New England, the land of sugar maples (and maple syrup!!!) and tall pines, in a whole 'nother world. I LOVE these palm trees, every time we've ever driven south, we've always been thrilled by the first palms we see!! So this is a real kick, finding out about these "torpedos", and that I can make jelly from the fruit!!! Anybody have experience making the jelly?

Now there's also this branch that I'm assuming is from last year maybe? It's covered with small seeds, and some of them look like they're getting bigger. They just brush off very easily. The old torpedo shell is opened and flat so I know it emerged from one of those things. But I thought the seed was in the orange fruit, so why is this branch covered in just naked seeds? I'm just not sure what the chain of events is......

those fruits are immature

Wow, they fall off the branch so easily, I'm surprised that any stay on long enough to become fruit. So we must've had the torpedo and never noticed it. It's ahead of all the others. How long will it take to grow a good sized palm from a mature seed, is it worth trying?

those ones were probably not viable or not pollinated properly or something. that usually doesnt happen. it will take a few months for em to get big and ripe. id say july-august and into september.