Each inflorescence (group of flowers) has a spathe (the "pulpit") and a flower-studded spadix (the "Jack"). The plant continues on like this, its reproductive capabilities uniquely waxing and waning ...
Most palms are tapped with an incision below the spadix, the fleshy inflorescence at the top of the male palm, but some, like date palms, are cut lower down the trunk. James McHugh, in An Unholy ...