A fascinating triple hybrid on the stunning and large, so-called Jubutia hybrid between Jubaea chilensis and Butia odorata, pollinated with Syagrus romanzoffiana. The result should be a plant close to Butyagrus (Butia odorata x Syagrus romanzoffiana) in looks but of larger size and with improved col..
A very interesting triple hybrid on the stunning and large, so-called Jubutia hybrid between Jubaea chilensis and Butia odorata, pollinated with Butia eriospatha. The result should be a plant close to Butia in looks but of larger size and with improved cold hardiness and hybrid vigor...
This unusual forest palm from high altitudes (to 2000 m (6600 ft.)) on Réunion Island (Mascarene Islands) has been reduced from populations with uncountable numbers of trees in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to a dangerous level by the uncontrolled collection of its edible "cabbage" in the ..
A rare, tall Acanthophoenix that was discovered on the island of Réunion some years ago and has been newly described only in 2006 (see PALMS Vol 50(2)). It grows in a drier habitat in Trois-Mares in the southeast of the island at moderate altitude between 600 and 850 m (2000 to 2800 ft.). It is simi..
This solitary palm has a slender, reddish brown trunk, a well-developed, velvety, reddish brown crownshaft that is armed with long spines when young but unarmed in older plants, and elegantly arching, pinnate leaves that are whitish below. Seedlings are densely covered in small, soft spines and have..
A marvelous and rare form of of the well known Paurotis Palm or Everglades Palm with powdery blue leaves. Native to Cuba, it surprisingly is almost unknown in cultivation. Acoelorrhaphe wrightii is highly adaptable and will succeed on a wide range of soils and in a wide range of climates, from tropi..
Not uncommon in its home in the Florida Everglades and other swampy areas throughout much of the Caribbean, this lovely palm typically grows with three or four of its slim trunks towering above the rest of the clump. Small, neat, fan-shaped leaves atop chestnut brown stems gives it an attractive app..
This large palm is covered with spines and is best described as "interesting," although a well-grown tree certainly has a very handsome appearance, especially from a distance. The difficulties in growing it are as formidable as its armament: the seeds are difficult to collect or to buy commercially;..
A beautiful and bizarre palm from Cuba with a dense crown of spreading leaves with elegantly drooping, shiny, narrow leaflets, and a robust trunk that is grotesquely swollen in the middle. It is certainly a palm for those who like a challenge: its seeds take a long time to germinate, the seedlings a..
A small to medium-sized, trunkless or slender-stemmed palm rarely to 6 m tall with sparsely spiny, plumose, bluish green leaves. Native to western-central Brazil in the states of Goiás and Mato Grosso, it grows on sandy soils in cerrado vegetation at moderate elevation. It is very rare in habitat an..
Although often treated as a synonym of Acrocomia aculeata, this plant is so different that it might better be treated as the separate species it was originally described as, in 1881, by Drude in Martius's Flora Brasiliensis. Native to forests in northeasternmost Brazil, especially around the town of..
This large palm from Brazil, Bolivia, and Argentina is covered with spines and is best described as "interesting," although a well-grown tree certainly has a very handsome appearance, especially from a distance. The difficulties in germinating it are as formidable as its armament, as the seeds take ..
Even though one of the more commonly seen palms in New Caledonia, where it is found in rainforests at low and high elevations to 1100 m (3600 ft.), mostly in the southern half of the island, Actinokentia is definitely rare in cultivation, mainly because of the lack of seeds for propagation. It is sl..
Even though one of the more commonly seen palms in New Caledonia, where it is found in rainforests at low and high elevations to 1100 m (3600 ft.), mostly in the southern half of the island, Actinokentia is definitely rare in cultivation, mainly because of the lack of seeds for propagation. It is sl..
This stunningly beautiful palm from New Guinea and the Solomon Islands has a slender, tall, solitary trunk, a smooth, long crownshaft, and a dense head of elegantly arching, finely pinnate, keeled leaves. It is a perfect ornamental for the tropics. The large seeds are easy to germinate and growth is..
Already highly popular and much sought after in Asia, this beautiful form of the popular Christmas palm has a crownshaft and leaves tinged with a fantastic yellowish-golden color. A great ornamental for the tropics. Seeds are rarely available...
One of the best varigated palms, seed of this desirable form of Adonidia merrillii yield a high percentage of plants that are identical to the parent, with well distributed and even variegations...
If you have seen those neat and elegant crownshaft palms in shopping malls, they are likely to be Adonidia merrillii. They are chosen because of their ability to put up with less than perfect conditions, such as over- and underwatering, and dry air. They are also splendid outside in the tropical or ..
This stunning palm recently discovered in the rainforests of Samar island in the Philippines is as yet scientifically undescribed but quite certainly belongs in the Ptychospermatinae subtribe and is probably most closely related to Manjekia maturbongsii and Adonidia. Adorador and Fernando in their 2..
A small to medium-sized, clustering palm native to the understorey of seasonally dry forests on the Pacific coast in Ecuador. If forms slender stems to 8 cm in diameter. The slightly plumose leaves hold up to 65 wedge-shaped leaflets that are attractively clustered in small groups. The stem, leafshe..
A rare, medium-sized palm to 9 m tall with slender, densely clustering stems and spreading crowns of lightly plumose, dark green leaves with narrow segments. The trunk and leafstalks are well armed with densely set spines. The red fruits are densely covered with a gelatinous substance. Aiphanes gela..
A medium-sized palm with slender, densely clustering stems and spreading crowns of lightly plumose, dark green leaves with slightly wedge-shaped segments. The trunk and leafstalks are well armed with densely set spines. Aiphanes hirsuta is native to montane rainforests to 2000 m from Costa Rica to n..
A very spiny but splendid, elegant and fast growing palm native to tropical South America with curly leaves and wedge-shaped leaflets. It is easy in cultivation and adapts well to most warm temperate and tropical climates. The seeds are edible and remind of coconut, but with a fresher, less chewy te..
Despite its spiny appearance, the Macaw Palm is a popular ornamental in the tropics, usually cultivated under the name Aiphanes erosa. In the wild, it is widespread in rainforests or seasonally dry forests throughout the Caribbean. It grows a fairly slender, spiny trunk that can reach up to 18 m (60..
This small, solitary, slender-stemmed and mildly spiny palm forms an open crown of arching leaves with only a few large, clustering, wedge-shaped leaflets, native to lowland rainforests in western Colombia and western Ecuador. Aiphanes tricuspidata is relatively rare and may not be present in cultiv..
Restinga, a low, coastal scrub, and sand dunes near the beach are the native habitat of this attractive, small, bushy palm in southeastern Brazil. Its forking trunk usually grows underground, rarely upright and visible. The elegantly arching, bushy leaves are dark gray-green above and silvery-waxy b..
Trachycarpus wagnerianus is the very best Trachycarpus for general cultivation. Its many attributes include the following:
- A compact habit with up to about 100 small and very stiff leaves - only ab...