Huge Palm, Cycad & Tropical Plant Sale

[Phil]

Chuniophoenix continued (go back to page 6 to see more photos).

Chuniophoenix are rarely seen in nurseries or in gardens. In the October, 1998 issue of Palms (Principes), Scott Zona did an excellent review of this genus. Here's a link for further reading of the first part of the article:

Chuniophoenix/Zona

Regarding culture, Chuniophoenix are surprisingly cold hardy. We had a few 15g out during the 07 freeze and they did quite well down to 25 degrees. They like shade or filtered light, and rich, somewhat moist, well-draining soil.

Here's a picture of a mature Chuniophoenix nana in a garden enviornment:

Another shot:

Here's a PACSOA picture of a garden specimen:

And, for comparison, a PlantaPalm photo of Chuniophoenix hainanensis. This plant gets up to 10 feet tall even though this specimen doesn't show that.

For those of you who do have existing canopy and are looking for an alternative to Rhapis and Chamaedorea, consider Chuniophoenix. They are very attractive.

Phil

[doubravsky]

Nice species, Phil. I have a very small Chunio Nana that made it through Jan 07 without dying, although it had 50% leaf damage.... it is a pretty plant!

[JEFF from Trabuco Canyon CA]

Nice looking palms! I never seen Chuniophoenix hainanensis in person, any growing in Southern California?

[LJG]

Dwain has a nice one I gave him. When you go over there, ask him about it.

Nice looking palms! I never seen Chuniophoenix hainanensis in person, any growing in Southern California?

[Phil]

Len, Jeff and Dave,

Thanks for the feedback. I think Chuniophoenix will always be one of those "forgotten" species. But they will grow for us out here.

Well, for today: "What's with the blue plants?". For those of us in the plant world, most are familiar with blue species of palms. Many seek them out. Some are popular for their color alone. Most popular are Bismarckia, Brahea armata, and others.

Bismarckia at Balboa Part in San Diego

Brahea armata at Balboa Park in San Diego

When enthusiasts talk about "blue", they most often mean a color that is sort of "silver-blue". It's typically not blue like the sky on a clear day nor blue like the ocean. It's more like the sky on a sunny but slightly foggy day. This color is the result of a wax that the plant puts out onto the surface of the leaf to protect the plant from the environment. This protection may be from sun, dehydration, or both.

Cycad enthusiasts are the same way about blue. Without a doubt and as a group, blue cycads are the keenly sought after and most popular. It is true that an occasional customer will say, "No, I like the lush green cycads". But, this is rare. Most of the major groups of cycads have within its group some blue species. With Macrozamia, the species Macrozamia macdonnelii is very sought after:

And in the group of Cycas, Cycas angulata would be a desirable blue plant:

Blue Cycads continued:

Phil

[Phil]

Blue cycads continued:

For those of us in California, Encephalartos are as a group one of the easist types of cycads to grow. Encephalartos sports its own assortment of blue plants. I want to show you a few of these.

We'll start with what I call, with Encephalartos, the "Basic Blues". There are four and they all come from the Republic of South Africa. And, more specifically, from the southern parts of this country. They are Encephalartos horridus, trispinosus, lehmanii, and princeps.

Encephalartos horridus is the number one selling blue cycad at our nursery. It is very barbed and spiney. If you think of how you'd feel "horrible" if you fell into it, you can understand how it was named as "horridus". The leaflets have a "flip" on one portion that goes approximately 90 degrees off the plane of the rest of the leaflet. And, they are quite pokey and barbed. But, this "flip" helps you identify them.

Encephalartos horridus, a 15g plant at our nursery:

The following photo is a closeup of the leaf and leaflets of different E. horridus at the nursery. You can see how the leaflets are arranged not in one plane, but with the "flip" in a more circumferential pattern.

Here's a photo of a larger Encephalartos at our nursery. It is in a 24 inch box:

Below is an E. horridus in the ground. It really shows off the blue color. Remember, the blue wax protects from dehydration. Because greenhouses are more humid, any blue plant is less blue in the greenhouse. Think about it: there's more humidity and less chance of dehydration. But outside, especially in So Cal where it tends to be dry, more wax is needed. Therefore, outside and in the sun, blue cycads really show off their color:

Just so everyone understands, yes we do sell plants including blue cycads in all sizes. That means we have seedlings to boxes.

Blue cycads continued.

Phil

[Phil]

Blue cycads continued:

Very similar to E. horridus is E. trispinosus. The name "tri-spine" is the clue to ID'ing this species. They classically have three spines to the leaflets and that includes the terminal spine. Unfortunately, it's not really that simple as there are forms of E. trispinosus with no spines at all and also forms that are green, not blue. But, for the most part, the typical E. trispinosus has these three spines without the flip seen in horridus.

Let's first look at the leaflet. I think this photo shows the classical appearance with the "three spines". I'll show a plant below that is not this classical form.

Below is a picture of the boxed specimen with the leaves above.

The following picture is of a non-classical form with less spination. It is in a 15g container.

And finally below is an Encephartos trispinosus in the garden showing its full blue color.

Tomorrow I'll show the other two "Basic Blues" and more if I have time. Right now I have to get ready to go to the nursery. Take care.

Basic Blue Cycads continued.

Phil

[Phil]

Basic Blue Cycads continued:

The third species of the Basic Blue Encephalartos is Encephalartos lehmanii. This species, with the one to follow (E. princeps) are totally different than E. horridus and tripsinosus. They don't have the angular leaves and sharp spines that the latter two have. Not that they won't poke you, but they are a bit more "user friendly" with not barbed leaflets with only a terminal spine at the end of the leaf. Like any of this group, they show wonder blue color when in full sun.

E. lehmanii in a 15g container:

Here's another nice specimen in a box with a few 5 inch offsets at the base of the main trunk:

Here's another specimen in a box. Note that this one doesn't show the blue color well. That's because these are older leaves and the plant is in the greenhouse. Outdoors, the blue returns.

And below is a garden specimen showing nice color:

Basic Blue Cycads continued:

Phil

[Phil]

Basic Blue Cycads continued:

Now let's compare this to the Encephalartos princeps. At the offset I must say that an inexperienced cycad person will say that this E. princeps is that same as an E. lehmanii (last post).

E. princeps in a 15g container:

But, not so quick. There is a difference and a way to tell them apart. To learn this, you have to take a careful look at the leaf, the leaflets and their orientation. Let's look at some closeups.

Below is a picture of the leaf of E. lehmanii. Look how the leaflets at projected in a flat fashion from the petiole. They are not rotated such that they look back at the caudex. They face the sky (more or less).

Can you see how the leaflets of the E. lehmanii above face flat toward you as you're looking from above? This is most prominent at the terminal half or third of the leaf. Let's take another look at the leaflets of E. lehmanii:

If you look slightly from the side of the leaf, you'll see that the plane of the leaflets more or less matches the plane of the petiole:

There may be more of a "keel" to the leaf of princeps as opposed to lehmanii, but this is variable on the specimen and locality of the plant's origin. But, I feel, this orientation of the leaflets is the best way to tell the difference between the two. I labor over this because most people have trouble telling them apart. With the next post we'll look at princeps.

Basic Blue Cycads continued:

Phil

[Phil]

Basic Blue Cycads continued:

Let's compare the orientation of the E. princeps leaflets to the lehmanii. You'll note that the leaflets of princeps are rotated and face the caudex. They don't face the viewer when looking flatly at the leaf. You could say they are "rotated" such that they face into the crown of the plant.

E. princeps leaf/leaflets

Below is another view of the leaf/leaflets of E. princeps. Look at the leaflets that show this orientation. On younger plants, this finding may be subtle. But, as the plant grows, it becomes more obvious (see photos below). And, it's most apparent on younger plants in the last 1/3 of the leaflets on the petiole.

Below is a picture of the leaf of an outdoor grown, lager E. princeps. Note again how the leaflets are not flat and facing the sky. Rather, they turn toward the vertical axis of the straight trunk below. Or, you could consider that they face into the crown of leaves directly, not toward the sky above them. These leaflets stack up like a line of domino chips.

Below is a larger view of an E. princeps showing this:

Basic Blue Cycads continued:

Phil

[Phil]

Basic Blue Cycads continued:

To finish off for today, I'll show a few more specimens of these two species. I hope all can tell the difference from these two species by looking carefully at the leaflets and leaves. There are other differences, but this is what I always look for first.

E. pinceps:

E. Princeps:

E. lehmanii:

E. lehmanii (PlantaPalm site):

With time available, tomorrow I'll show you some interesting cycads that are blue, but not part of the "Basic Blue" group. Then we'll return to a few more palms.

Phil

[Phil]

Blue Cycads continued:

I mentioned I would show some more blue Encephalartos. This list could go on for quite a while, but I wanted to show some interesting ones.

First, let's talk about Encephalartos arenarius. This species is from R.S.A. in the Eastern Cape province. This species has rigid and ruggedly spined leaflets. It's leaf color ranges from green to blue. It sort of looks like a greener E. horridus but with a different leaflet and no "flips". There is a naturally occuring variety that is really blue. Cycad enthusiasts often seek out these true "blue arenarius" and have heated discussions over who has the true blue variety. The fact of the matter is that many Encephalartos arenarius are blue. The color of leaflets of this species ranges from a true green all the way to blue.

Below is a typical green E. arenarius in 24 inch box at the Nursery. No question about it; this plant is green:

Below is another E. arenarius from the nursery in a 15g container. Looks pretty blue, doesn't it?

And here's a closeup of the leaf of this blue form that shows the leaflet shape and the blue color. Note how the arenarius is a more simple leaf compared to the horridus. It has prominent spines (often numbering from 2 to 4 counting the terminal spine), but is flatter and more in one plane.

The picture above demonstrates how there is a wide difference in the coloration of the arenarius leaf. Below is a green variety in a garden setting:

Blue Cycads continued:

Phil

[Phil]

Blue Cycads continued:

Below is a picture of an Encephalartos arenarius of blue color in a garden. Also, remember that the blue powder forms in response to threats of dehydration (sun, low humidity, heat), so a green plant may be more blue outdoors in the sun. The color of the plant below is blue, but not quite the powder silver of horridus:

Below is a powder silver plant in the garden:

I think with all these pictures you get the idea that there's a color range of leaves with E. arenarius, all the way from green to silver.

Now for a really different Encephalartos. If you don't like "pokey", you will perhaps be more drawn to Encephalart frideirici guillielmii. This species has long, thin leaflets. They are not very dangerous to touch. "EFG" does show some blue color. Below is a pictrue of a 15g plant at the Nursery with some closeups showing the leaflets and color.

Encephalart frideirici guillielmii:

Below is a closeup of the leaf of the plant above:

Blue cycads continued:

Phil

[Phil]

Blue Cycads continued:

Here's a picture of a plant in the garden:

A closer view of this plant showing the color:

And now a macro shot of the leaflets. No side barbs and a narrow leaflet:

For comparison with "EFG", lets examine another "blue" cycad, Encephalartos lanatus. This species is also from the Republic of South Africa and is a narrow leaflet cycad with no lateral barbs on the leaflet. It has a very recurved leaf with blue color.

Encephalartos lanatus, picture by author by Phakamani M’ Afrika Xaba from Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in South Africa:

Blue Cycads continued:

Phil

[Phil]

Blue Cycads continued:

Below is a picture of Encephalartos lanatus from the PACSOA site, this one from habitat and showing the somewhat blue color:

Another time I'll get into the blue Encephalartos from the Transvaal district of RSA including such species as middelburgensis, dolomiticus, cupidus, etc.

But now, so that palm addicts don't totally go through withdrawal, I'll move onto another palm. Dypsis onilahensis is often discussed at Palm Talk. It is a clustering, medium sized palm that has a natural distriubtion throughout many areas of Madagascar; from the far north to the far south. Because it can tolerate drier contions, it does nicely in Southern California.

Let's start out showing a 5g Dypsis onilahensis at the nursery. It is about 4 feet tall:

Below is a closeup of the base of the plant. At this stage, D. onilahensis shows a lot of burgundy color in the stem. Later (as with many Dypsis) it shows silver/green.

Below is a specimen in a So Cal garden:

Dypsis onilahensis continued:

Phil

[Phil]

Dypsis onilahensis:

Below is a habitat shot of one of the localities for D. onilahensis. If you look carefully, you can see some specimens in the picture. (Photo by J.S.) Note how dry this environment is.

Here's another shot by the same photographer who presents to me Dypsis onilahensis:

This species is reported to sometimes be single trunk. Here's a single trunk specimen from habitat that is reported to be onilahensis:

I think posts from this Discussion Group have had some great photographs of Dypsis onilahensis in the past. I was thoroughly disappointed this morning doing a webserch for more pictures on the Net. Quality shots are not readily available.

Dypsis onilahensis is slow growing but pretty reliable. I think it's a good choice for a clustering palms in So Cal.

Take care. Feedback is always welcome. I hope you liked the primer on some blue cycads.

Phil

[BS Man about Palms]

We're watching Phil, keep going. This is great! (I can just make out the S H O N on that last palm you pictured! )

[doubravsky]

Excellent pics! Dypsis Onilahensis has to be one of my 5 favorite palms (at least, of the ones I can actually grow ) More more more.....

[phatmiata]

I am in love with the Jubaeopsis caffra you posted on page 5. I wish i could get one.

[mppalms]

Phil,

I'm still a bit confused about the "upright leaflet" form of Dypsis onilahensis and the "drooping leaflet" form. You show both in this post. Are both really Dypsis onilahensis, or is one going to be the next Dypsis mystery? It seems that the two "Dypsis onilahensis" I have are turning out to be the "upright leaflet" form (like your last pic), but it's a bit early to say.

Jason

[Phil]

First a little feedback:

Bill, you have sharp eyes but I have no idea if Shon put his name on that plant. If he did, he'll pick it up sooner or later.

Dave, I too like onilahensis. I think they are a great species for our area. If I had one complaint, it would be that there growth rate is much less than some other Dypsis. Lots of enthusiasts consider it among their favorite plants from Madagascar.

Randy, check locally and if you can't get one, call me and I can ship you a Jubaeopsis. In fact, I just sent one out to Florida about 3 days ago.

And finally Jason: I think there are two forms and it's been discussed on the main forum. But, I have a bit of a different viewpoint toward all the Dypsis. I've probably grown as many Dypsis as anyone around. When I started doing it heavily about 15 years ago, I couldn't give them away. There was hardly any interest. Now it's the rage. And, over the years seeds after seeds came in with no given name to them. I've grown so many "species" with no names that I sort of got use to just calling a plant "Dypsis sp......(whatever)". We're getting better at it, but in the end it's up to a taxonomist to study the flowers and morphology of the plant and figure out if one of the onilahensis is actually another species. With Pritchardias, I've sold thousands over the years. Many were unnamed species. And, as of today, Don Hodel has finally put out a monograph so we can ID them. But, until he did that, even he couldn't ID all the Pritchardia in my yard when he visited. As of 2008, most of the Madagascar species can be identified. It will probably take another ten years to ID a lot of those remaining mysteries. And when that happens, we'll all hear about it. Until that happens, I just accept that we don't have all the answers and that it's ok that we still have a few mysteries.

Next a post of something different.

Phil

[Phil]

I don't have a lot of time this morning, but I thought I'd mention a few special smaller plants that are really attractive and fill a need for we enthusiasts. Sometimes there's a spot in the garden that's in the shade and in need of something small. It needs a plant that doesn't grow tall or take up too much room. Well, miniature Chamaedorea to the rescue!

I've always had an affinity for small Chamaedorea. There's always been something quite special about them. Surprisingly, some are very difficult to locate or purchase. The latter is because some species are very difficult to pollinate domestically.

Chamaedorea geonomiformis is a small, single trunk species that is as cute as a bug's ear. You can plant them as a single or start a little colony. They typically only get to about 2 feet tall. This one is in a one gallon container.

Chamaedorea ernesti-augusti is a bit bigger. It gets up to about five to six feet and has larger, simple leaves. It's one of the most popular Chamaedorea that I sell. This one's in a 5g container. It's the plant in the front of the grouping:

Below is a close up of the leaf:

Chamaedorea amablis is a Panamanian species that has a gorgeous simple leaf. But, it's a bit tricker to grow and doesn't tolerate too much cold. This picture was taken by a friend of mine.

Small Chamaedorea continued:

Phil

[Phil]

Small Chamaedorea continued:

Below is another shot of amablis:

Here's a closeup of the leaf of C. amablis:

Below is a picture of another miniature Chamaedorea, but we pleated leaves. This is the sought-after Chamaedorea tuerckheimii. This photo was (I think) taken by our long-lost member Bob Chang (a Chamaedorea enthusiast).

Below is another species, Chamaedorea tenella. It is smaller than even geonomiformis. You can get a seedling female that's only 16 inches tall.

I'll post some more tomorrow. But, now I have to get to work.

Phil

[paulgila]

that last pic looks like its in habitat.

is that really appropriate footwear?

[Phil]

Small Chamaedorea continued:

Paul,

Flip Flops allow the enthusiast to feel the soil between his toes; very beneficial to understanding the soil in which the palm grows. I, myself, prefer boots.

I want to jump back to make a few points on a previous species. All Chamaedorea ernesti-augusti were not created equal. There are forms with smaller and more narrow leaves. Others have nice wide leaves. I prefer the latter and always try to seek them out for growing. Below are a few pictures to show this:

To my way of thinking, the following example is sort of a ho-hummer specimen. The leaves are not big and lush.

Compare the leaf size of the plant above to the one below. I apologize for the less than stellar photo, but you can see my point. I've gotten seeds in the past that were labeled "Chamaedorea ernesti-augusti giant leaf" and found them to be fantastic.

A fairly common Chamaedorea that could be used in a small planting location is Chamaedorea metallica. Here's a photo:

My main complaint with Chamaedorea metallica is that, in many years, it begins to look like a crop of tiny leaves on a stick. The stem can get up to seven or eight feet and the leaflets seem to get smaller with age. Planting in clusters of three or four plants together can make the cluster look better than singles. This phenomena of smaller leaves as the plant ages is also seen in other species including Chamaedorea ernesti-augusti.

Chamaedorea correae is another simple leaf species that would work. Native to Panama, this thin trunk, single stem palm can eventually get a trunk one to two meters, but the trunk is so thin that it tends to bend over and crawl the gound.

Small Chamaedorea continued:

Phil

[Phil]

Small Chamaedorea continued:

Chamaedorea sullivaniorum is another very attractive small species. It's distribution in nature is from Costa Rica down to Columbia. This species is hard to find but a few collectors in So Cal are having good luck with them. Don Hodel named this species after Pauleen Sullivan, a legendary palm person from our area. Here's a picture from habitat:

Collectors often make a distinction that there are two varieties or populations of Chamaedorea sullivaniorum. I mention it here because you might hear people talk about it.

Cham. sullivaniorum "type one" has a blue tint to the green leaves. Here's an example of the leaf showing this color:

Here's a picture of a bunch of "type 1":

Chamaedorea sullivaniorum "type two" has true green leaves. The plant below is in a one gallon and appears to be a female.

Like Chamaedorea tuerckheimii, Cham. sullivaniorum like low salt content water. Municipal water tends to brown tip the leaves.

Continued:

Phil

[Phil]

Small Chamaedorea continued:

If you like clustering species, Chamaedorea brachypoda can work. In my experience, this species typically doesn't get over about four,to five feet tall. Below is a picture of C. brachypoda:

A question I'm often asked is how to tell the difference between Chamaeforea brachypoda and stolinifera. Both sucker. Both have simple, small leaves. Here's a picture of Chamaedorea stolinifera:

There's several ways to tell the difference. Both sucker, but if you look at the base of all the stems, Chamaedorea stolinifera really show the "stolon" characteristic. This is how this species gets its name. It puts out above the ground, extending stems that shoot out and many times dive back into the soil to emerge elsewhere as a small sucker with leaves. Or, they can hang over the edge of the pot and make leaves without going back into the soil. C. brachypoda makes more typical suckers that you'd see on other palms.

Another way to tell the difference is to feel the leaves. Cham. stolinifera is thicker and more dense to the touch. Brachypoda are more of a paper-weight substance.

Chamaedorea brachypoda, another shot in the nursery:

A final way to tell the difference is to look at the shape of the leaflets. Brachypoda leaflets are wider. Chamaedorea stolinifera leaflets are longer and more pointed at their bifid tips. Compare these two photos above and below and you'll see what I mean.

Chamaedorea stolinifera:

And, a final way to tell them apart is with cultural differences. Stolinifera is easier to grow and tolerates city water better. Therefore you tend to see less brown tips with this species. Both have potential to get stems overhead with many years (see photo above), especially stolinifera. But, during the first decade or so, neither are too tall.

If I can think of more to say, perhaps I'll make a few more comments tomorrow about small Cham's.

Happy New Year!

Phil

[mppalms]

Fantastic photos, Phil. Really nice stuff.

Jason

[palmislandRandy]

Keep it going please

[Phil]

Small Chamaedorea continued:

Good Morning.

I'll say a little more about small Chamaedorea. Unfortunately, when we get into some of the really rare species, there's just not a lot of photos available.

I first became familiar with Chamaedorea stricta about 10 years ago when I obtained some seeds and seedlings. At the time I thought I would have a new species to offer customers for quite a while. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. I had them for about 2 years and haven't been able to get them since. The intrigue of this species is the long but narrow sword-like leaves. It's overall stature is not large. The picture below appears to be a habitat shot. They are much prettier than this when grown domestically. If you ever see one for sale, just buy it. You'll thank me later.

A picture of Chamaedorea stricta from the PlantaPalm site;

Another difficult species to obtain is Chamaedorea pumila. It sort of reminds me of amablis. It is small and cute. It's culture outdoors in So Cal is difficult.

Chamaedorea pumila (photo appears to originally be from Martin Gibbons)

About 15 years ago a friend of mine, Gregg Hamann, took a trip into Belize. He returned with seeds of Chamaedorea adscendens. At this time, there was no availability whatsoever on this species. As far as I know, we were the first nursery to offer this species commercially back then. Seedlings were very expensive. In present time, seedsmen have jumped onto this species and you can find it in specialty palm nurseries. It never gets over about 3 feet tall and has a cream colored crownshaft and upper trunk. It also has a velvet-like sheen to the leaves.

Chamaedorea adscendens in a 2g pot

Another photo, same species, PlantaPalm

Small Cham's continued:

Phil

[Phil]

Small Chamaedorea continued:

Chamaedorea radicalis is fairly common but should be mentioned. We are talking here about the non-trunking C. radicalis. It's leaves are pinnate with a fairly heavy substance to the touch. It is relatively cold hardy and in coastal areas can even tolerate full sun. It's hieght is typically four feet or less, often with a blossom coming up to the height of the tallest leaves.

Here's a flowring sized plant in a 2g container. To the left you can see the long blossom shooting straight up toward the top of the leaves. It's not unusual to see bright red fruit hanging on a female blossom around Christmas time with all the seeds at the top of the plant.

Chamaedorea deckeriana is a simple leaf Chamaedorea species. In the right environment, it can get over head in height. We currently have plants in 5g size. The leaves are broad and simple. They are very thin in substance. Like so many other miniature Cham's, they suffer from salty municipal water. They can tolerate into the mid to low-thirty degree temps. This is a perfect species for more tropical areas than So Cal.

Chamaedorea deckeriana picture from PACSOA

Another species one might consider is Chamaedorea elatior. When they are small they have large, simple leaves and would seem to fit that small spot:

But, as many of you know, there's a surprise in store for you.

Small Cham's continued:

Phil

[Phil]

Small Chamaedroea continued:

This surprise is that Chamaedoea elatior changes and gets pinnate leaves and is a climber. Below is a picture of the leaf after it's gone pinnate (picture with JM previous employee Dan Cornagia):

Chamaedorea elatior, pinnate appearing leaf:

The Pacsoa picture below shows how this gorgeous smaller plant becomes a somewhat scrappy palm with a twisting trunk:

I suppose if the palm above were your kid, you'd love it regardless. I don't find it too attractive.

There are other small Chamaedoreas. Remember that Don Hodel describes hundreds of species in his book. If you like Cham's, do buy this very affordable publication. I think the IPS Bookstore still has copies. I think once it's out of print, it will not only become hard to find but be three times the price.

Til next time.

Phil

[Phil]

Group,

Don't you just love Saturdays? I certainly do. Saturday is our busiest day at the Nursery. Not that we weren't not busy during the week (i.e. yesterday we sent out 15 boxes of plants), I prefer Saturdays because that is when the most palm people drop by for a visit. And I love meeting and chatting about palms, cycads, and life with other enthusiasts. Many of these customers I've gotten to know quite well over the years. This means I get a lot of feedback on the species and how they are doing. It's a fun game for us.

With this in mind and knowing I don't have a lot of time, I thought I'd do a short post about the interesting genus Allagoptera. This genus has four species, all being from Brazil with some extention into nearby countries. Allogoptera tend to be small, bushy palms that bifurcate their trunks (sucker) and have intereting blossoms. They are monoecious (both sexes).

Below is a picture of a 5g Allagoptera arenaria, the most commercially available species of this genus. It is about 20 to 24 inches tall:

This species is known as the Seashore Palm. The Latin derivation of the species name (arenaria) refers to sand, the natural habitat of this species. It lives naturally in sand dune type localities. It makes an ideal species for planting near the shore because it seems to tolerate salty air and doesn't get too big and won't block views of the ocean. Its leaves are very fluffy (plumose). Below is a closer look at the leaf of the plant above:

Below is a picture of a larger plant in the ground. Once again notice how plumous the leaf is and how the plant is quite small:

Here's another shot of a plant in the ground.

Allagoptera continued:

Phil

[Phil]

Allagoptera continued:

Allagoptera arenaia is not difficult to grow. It will tolerate temperatures into the upper to mid-twenties F. In most coastal areas it likes full sun. I've known of plants being successfully dug and moved. Most plants I've seen get to a height of five to six feet. But, they can exceed this by a bit if well grown.

Below is a much bigger specimen. It can look a little bit "scrappy", but thoughtful pruning can tidy it up.

Here's another picture from PACSOA. This plant is smaller:

I mentioned that the blossoms/seeds are unique. Below is a picture of a semi-spent blossom:

And this cryatal-clear PACSOA shot is another look at the blossom. Note how the foliage has a bit of silver striping with the deep green:

So there you go: another species that could serve well in a particular spot in the garden where a small, full-sun species is needed. I just had this idea that I'd see if people actually read the text when I post (as opposed to just looking at pictures). So, for anyone who comes by the nursery today, Saturday (no purchase necessary), I will give them a free band sized palm of my choosing. This is just for visiting, but you have to mention this post. Have a good weekend.

Phil

[BS Man about Palms]

Phil, Thanks for all the info, and a nice place to visit and get a liner yesterday!!

[Palmgrover]

Phil, I had a great time visiting J.M. Saturday. Your information on this thread is priceless and very informative. Keep up the good work

Thanks for the liner also.

Bob

[Phil]

Good Morning!

I know how sometimes it's fun to see pictures of people from this group. Therefore, I'm going to show a few pictures of some visitors looking at our palms.

Below is Palmgrover Bob and Roosty looking at some palms:

And here they are looking at a 15 gallon Kentiopsis oliviformis:

You'll notice as we continue that BS, Man about Palms has joined in. They get camera comfortable and start to ham it up for the picture. They are looking at a 20g Dypsis species:

Below is a picture of the crown of the plant above. It's up in the rafters of the greenhouse, probably about 12 feet tall:

Continued:

Phil

[Phil]

Continued:

Below are Roosty, Bob (Palmgrover) and BS "admiring" a 15g Howea belmoreana. Now they are definitely being the "hams" just for you guys:

Below is Roosty showing you a 20g Pritchardia beccarian about 8 feet tall:

Below is a look at the back side of the leaf of this Pritchardia beccariana. Note that the leaf is rather large for a Pritchardia, flat (not wavy), near entire without deep divisions in the leaf itself, and has just a hint of silver on the pleats. Sorry, I didn't take a closeup of the front side of the leaf. But, remember that it's often the back side that aids us most in ID'ing the species.

A closer view of the same back side of the leaf:

Pritchardia beccarina continued:

Phil

[Phil]

Pritchardia beccariana continued:

And now a look at the trunk:

Pritchardia beccariana is actually quite simple to grow along the coast. Most would give it full sun or good partial sun. Far inland, it must be in filtered light. It would never take full sun in the desert. It tolerates cold somewhere in the mid-twenties. During 07 we found no damage at 25 degrees, but I think this is about the bottom limit. Interestingly, in the early days of our Nursery, P. beccariana was touted as one of the most cold hardy of the Pritchardia. I can't say that is true or not true. But, it does tolerate a fair amount of cold.

Here's a picture of a larger Pritchardia beccariana:

Below is a cloeup of the front side of an established plant in the garden:

The picture below once again shows how the leaves are not deeply divided:

I really enjoy Pritchardias and would recommend one to anyone who lives in an area where the weather permits their growth.

Take care,

Phil

[Phil]

Hello.

I was looking through my photos and came upon an interesting similarity between leaves of two entirely different species. I won't name them at first. Try to look at the pictures and decide which species they are. Then, below, I'll give the answer and discuss it. Here we go:

Plant Number one (5g pot about 2 feet tall):

Plant Number two (5g pot about 2 feet tall):

You've seen both of these photos previously. Here's another view of Plant Number two:

Do you see how similar they are? To a casual glance, one might be fooled. The first picture you saw a few days ago. Plant Number One is Allagoptera arenaria. Plant Number Two is Dypsis "mahajanga".

Both in this juvenile stage appear to be plumose in character and from a distance look quite similar. But, there's an interesting difference that will help you tell them apart. Look at the Allagoptera photo above. It has matched leaflets on either side of the petiole at the same point on the petiole. Now look at the mahajanga. It's leaflets are not paired at the same point on the petiole. The Dypsis leaflets are to one side, then jump up the petiole a bit and has leaflets on the other side; thus they alternate their position on the stem.

Sort of interesting, huh?

Phil