Botanists are baffled with the discovery of a new species of giant self-destructing palm tree in Madagascar which is said to flower only once in its 100 year life.

According to botanist from the Kew Gardens in London, the 60-foot palm which has 16-foot leaves, because the moment it does, it spends so much energy that it dies.

"It's spectacular," said Mijoro Rakotoarinivo of Kew gardens. "At first there's only a very long shoot like asparagus from the top of the tree and then, a few weeks later, this unique shoot starts to spread."

"At the end of this process you can have something like a Christmas tree."

During pollination, the tree's branches become covered with hundreds of tiny flowers, turning into fruits.

The tree eventually dies after spending so much energy on flowering.

Named Tahina spectabilis, Malagasy for "blessed" or "to be protected" the tree is said to be large it can be seen in satellite photos on Google Earth.