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Boy, I would have to say it’s a Voanioala gerardii from Madagascar. Managed to get a 1 gallon back in 2010. Known as the forest coconut. Tim

Geonoma undata, red leafbase form, from the late Dick Endt. (the strong color fades with maturity) I purchased three, but one died.

The single rarest in the garden would have to be Jubaeopsis caffra. I purchased a seedling from a specialty nursery many years ago that no longer exists.

My Rhapis vidalii which I grew from seed (via RPS). Some of the dried frond tips trimmed.

Lemurophoenix halleuxii is probably the rarest palm I have and it’s also the most expensive I’ve ever bought. Purchased from Mark Daish in Babinda, North Queensland. He only had 3 left, 1 was already promised to another, and he wanted the remaining 2 for himself. I kept asking and increasing my price until he caved, or he played me from the start 🤣. Didn’t care either way, just had to have it. I think there’s only around 300 left in Madagascar and one doesn’t come across them often in cultivation (outside of Hawaii that is), although Queensland is blessed with a few. Tahina spectabilis appears slightly less rare with circa 700 individuals in habitat, but far more than that it seems in cultivation. Mine was a gift from Michael Green, which I’ll forever be grateful for.

Seeing all the amazing palms here, I realize I should have posted just my VERY rarest, with photo. So I’ll call it my “mealy bug” - because it’s rare to find one this size in CA, and it was also my most expensive palm…

Thought I should share a couple pics. First is a 10 yo P. viscosa; next was purchased as P. aylmer-robinsonii, later rolled into “remota” by Don Hodel.

I have 2. Copernicia cowellii and Coccothrinax boschiana. I had to travel to their respective habitats in Cuba and the Dominican Republic to collect the seeds to grow my own. These rarely are available as plants or even seeds as the ONLY location worldwide for mature, seed producing trees, is their tiny habitats. aztropic Mesa, Arizona

I would say my hemithrinax ekmaniana copernicia curtissii and copernicia rigida....

D. Decipiens 20 years old H. Indica - New planting this year. Purchased from Stacey Wright. C. Nucele - Floribunda Palm. Probably 10 years old now Bizmarkia always growing.

While not my rarest, Hemithrinax ekmaniana has proven itself a winner for the Arizona desert. Takes our full sun, extreme heat to 120F, and winter chills into the upper 20'sF without a scratch. One of my favorite palms due to it's compact nature, and relatively fast growth speed. (compared to most Coccothrinax species) I have already grown a few batches from seed to help preserve this rare palm from extinction. aztropic Mesa, Arizona

Trithrinax schizophylla is doing well. When I got it as a seedling, over 20 years ago, it was quite rare in So. Calif..

Lots of rain recently(last 2 months ~20") has brought the palms which are wet lovers alive. They are putting out new leaves and dropping old ones faster than I have seen previously. OF these palms, the satakentias just glow. I have (2) with just under 8' clear trunk and they are getting nice color on the crownshaft as well as that nice dark foliage. These were not damaged significantly in hurricane Milton last october. Ken Johnson delivered these 2 palms about mid 2019 with 2-3' of clear trunk. They have grown 5-6 feet of trunk but more recent growth is most impressive in caliper of the trunk at the bottom of the crownshaft, its ~8" .

In young palms, it would be my hybrids... "Tribear" / Chrysalidocarpus leptocheilos x decaryi "Tribana" / Chrysalidocarpus pembanus x decaryi "Mad Fox" / Chrysalidocarpus (Dypsis?) marojejyi In larger palms (20G+)... Chrysalidocarpus (Dypsis) carlsmithii Chrysalidocarpus (Dypsis) decipiens Chrysalidocarpus (Dypsis) decipiens x onilahensis hybrid Chrysalidocarpus (Dypsis) decipiens blue (aka "Butt ugly betafaka") Chrysalidocarpus (Dypsis) hovomantsina Chrysalidocarpus (Dypsis) mananjarensis ("mealy bug") Chambeyronia houailou Ravanea sambirinensis The rest are mostly Floribunda-sourced. How did I get them? By shelling out a ton of 💸 - over a multi-year quest.

Been awhile since a thread for this genus of rather elegant palms from western Pacific islands. Feel free to post any images and observations you’ve experienced. I’ve got three species and five individuals growing in the garden. C. samoense is by far the more robust and for this reason, planted in the open space behind the property. Digging a hole wasn’t possible because of the shallow soil over almost solid rock, so the potted specimens were just placed on the on the surface after removing the bottom of the plastic pot. Super aggressive roots enabled them to anchor and penetrate fractures in the rock. Here are a few C. samoense photos. Tim

This is an old photo from 2022 of the larger of my 2 Voanioala gerrardii. Tim (realarch) and I are both growing this palm, along with a number of other Big Island palm enthusiasts. I should take a fresh photo, it's a beautiful palm -- basically looks the same but bigger now.

And this Syagrus sancona

Chrysalidocarpus Loucoubensis (formerly Dypsis Ampasindavae)

And last, but not least is the C. savoryanum, just a spectacular smaller Clino. Lots of photos on PT of this palm. Tim

Coccothrinax Clinostigma gronophyllum

In my own case, this doubles as a teaser to the Fall garden update - Carpentaria acuminata X Veitchia arecina.

Probably Lepidorrachis and this little Syagrus ruschiana for mine.

Lepidorrhachis mooreana, ground planted on 28.06.2011, as a small seedling approximately 15 cm (6 inches) tall. The true trunk shown is 14 cm (5.75 inches) in diameter. Previously I have grow two adults to a trunk height of 75 cm (30 inches) but both died from various causes before producing seeds. They did produce numerous spadices, including immature seeds.

Some awesome palms I’ve never heard of in this thread. Most of my palms are rare for central Florida while not rare in other places, but rarest is most likely my Coccothrinax Macroglossa “Azul”

"Teddy Bear" (chrasalidocarpus leptocheilos) 18 months in the ground gets its ring. Its been getting plenty of rain recently. My large one(25' overall) was decapitated crownshaft and crown in hurricane milton last oct. Got this one as a bare root seedling 4-5" long with root about 6 years ago. I look forward to more teddy bear color in the yard.

Here’s another C. samoense with a shovel at the base to give an idea of the size. Tim

the transitional leaf stage of this Loxococcus rupicola

Here is an updated pic of the Clinostigma savoryanum at the San Diego Zoo. This pic was taken on September 2, 2025. I believe this palm is more than 25 ft, maybe closer to 30 ft tall.

My rarest palm tree would prob be a tie between my Cyrtostachys renda Variegated and Chrysalidocarpus 'Votovavy Blue'

Looks like my only macrocarpa will have some watermelon markings after all. I’m hoping my smaller hookeri will be a blonde/reverse watermelon. Should know soon! 🤞

A couple palm friends in the PSSC went to Tahiti and took some awesome pictures. Including these! I’m hoarse from yelling obscenities.

Here’s one that goes by the name, ‘Hawaiian Hybrid.’ Can only speculate what the cross is, but it seems a bit smaller in stature than C. samoense, but almost as tall. You can see differences in the crown as well. Tim

Caught this Chrysalidocarpus hovomantsina in the process of dropping a leaf sheath. Beefy palm, nice color too. Tim

I was out back looking at frogs with my daughter and I turned around and super silver flashed me. The flashlight really shows off why it’s called super silver.

While I don’t really have anything super “rare”, I do have a bunch of coveted palms listed below I think many might like to have in the garden. One palm that is probably my favorite and most unique was purchased as Dypsis Heteromorpha but it surely seems like a hybrid of some type. I’ve posted this palm many times so people are probably tired of seeing it but it never gets old to me and is continuing to grow at a rapid rate. Planted out as a small 5G stick in Feb 2021 if you can believe it. Crazy….. -Dypsis Mananjarensis (Mealy Bug) -Dypsis Dark Mealy -Dypsis Black Stem -Dypsis Ampasindavae -Dypsis Mayotte -Dypsis Marojejyi (MadFox) -Kentiopsis Piersoniorum -Licuala Ramsayi

I dont have a rare palm, though in my neighborhood many are rare. I guess the least common palm I have is a patrick schaffer hybrid (BxJ)xJ. I got it as a strap leafer in 2015. It might be very uncommon for florida. I am hoping it gets massive, fingers crossed.

Tough call in Australia a lot of stuff is extremely rare. Especially in my subtropical climate. You’re up against the palm mafia to get anything rare. licuala egregia licuala triphylia var stenophylla Geonoma atrovirens Sabinara magnifica And I know there’s more rare ones in there somewhere in the collection. I only know them when I see them!

This sixteen year old C. urens has been flowering and fruiting for six years. The latest infructescence is reachable from the ground. The weird thing is that its crown is still pushing new leaves. They are somewhat distorted. A new spear is evident but very difficult to photograph as the palm is about thirty feet tall. Has this occurred with anyone else’s Caryota of any species? I was otherwise expecting the palm to die in just a few more years.

Another one of my favourites in the chamaedorea collection!

New Zealand grown C. Decipens. Split not long after planting as a double 7 years ago. First stem trunking three to go

They seem to be a very popular palm with a lot palm enthusiasts. And for good reason so they are a standout chamaedorea that has a look of there own in the garden, adding that tropical look so desired by gardeners around the globe. With two different forms theres a palm for most spots in the garden anywhere you desire. Easy to grow and propagate a great palm for enthusiasts at all levels of palm growing, a great learners palm right up to a great collectors prize in any garden!

Chrysalidocarpus Leucomallus These could be the slowest Chrysalidocarpus out there, so to have a ring of trunk is pretty exciting. Although I will say, this particular plant has not been slow for me compared to every other one I have grown, or tried to grow. So maybe I got lucky with good genetics on this one or it’s just planted in the perfect spot. Size 10 shoe for scale

Mine's also Jubaeopsis affra, I've had it for a couple years and it's still small but was estimated to already be around 15 years old when I bought it. I hope it starts getting more of the golden coloration soon!

These aren't going to impress many but mine is probably a suckering blue Brahea dulcis which I grew from seed off @DoomsDave's palm. Or possibly a variegated Sabal palmetto from @FishEyeAquaculture via @ahosey01.

This Bactris major

The velvety seed pod of Vonitra perrieri

Look up! Gladly, so inspirational. A pair of Crysalidocarpus prestonianus. Tim

I’ve posted about this palm before. Definitely stoked I decided to buy it. Sold to me as baronii “black petiole” which isn’t to be confused with Dypsis baronii “black stem” but is still a gorgeous palm that I look forward to watching grow. Two leaf bases fell off yesterday revealing some rings.

Borassodendron machadonis

A few more. Apologies for any incorrect IDs, I’m just going by eye. Raphia sp Cyrtostachys hybrid Chuniophoenix nana Chuniophoenix hainanensis Some freaky Chrysalidocarpus hybrid. I’m guessing C cabadae x leptocheilos or vice versa. There were so many Chrysalidocarpus hybrids it seemed like they had a full spectrum of that entire genus’ gene pool. Dypsis rivularis Chambeyronia macrocarpa. All the Chambeys I saw didn’t seem as vigorous as they can be in the cooler tropics and subtropics. Joey altifrons Arenga caudata (?) A group of Syagrus schizophylla Arenga undulatifolia Group of Arenga pinnata Nannorrhops Chrysalidocarpus onilahensis weeping form Sabal minor Livistona carinensis A few Copernicia sp Leucothrinax morrisii Pigafetta Cyrtostachys hybrid Dictyosperma album var conjugatum A row of Lodoicea. All were just maturing just as they start to show clear trunk or even beforehand. They cage the females but don’t bother with the less valuable males (the palms I mean) Deckenia nobilis I’ll keep adding some more photos when I have time and as I figure out some of the remaining IDs.