Latania loddigesii

[David Clulow]

I noticed the sun behind a leaf on my Latania loddigesii this morning and took this photo. It is quite slow growing - can someone explain to me why it is called "Blue Latan Palm" when in fact the petioles are Red !? Both photos were taken this morning, the planting and sowing dates are on the label:

[David Clulow]

I've just found a photo of this taken in October 2007 - so you can see that this specimen has not really got much bigger in the last five years

The petioles seem to be even redder then

[Kim]

Wow, that first photo is a real eye-popper! I am certainly no expert, but it would seem your palm was mislabeled and is really Latania lontaroides.

[PalmatierMeg]

Very nice but it looks like my red latan, so I wonder too. If it is the red it's stil a very good thing. I believe the red latan is the rarest of the 3 species and, supposedly, the most difficult to grow. But mine is doing very well here and is a bit larger than yours. I got it in March 2010 after our record cold winter. It has at least doubled in size.

[David Clulow]

Hi Kim

Many thanks for your encouraging comments. I don't think this is L. lontaroides as I have five nice specimens in the garden - they are much faster growing and the petiole is totally different, covered in a lovely indumentum. If my palms with the red petioles are really this then all my L. lontaroides will need identifying and new labels! Dr. Mike Ferrari the Australian palm botanist did confirm my lontaroides but not the loddigesii.

Also I don't think it is L. verschaffeltii as for me this is as slow growing of what I have labelled as the L. loddigessii as for me, as what I have labelled as L. verschaffeltii has stunning yellow petioles:

Edited September 3, 2012 by David Clulow

[brodklop]

They are all sensational. I think the 'blueness' comes out when they get to the trunking stage

[Tampa Scott]

The blueness will come in time. I had a L. loddigesii that had all the red when young, had started to blue up and then 2010 came. RIP

[Pez]

The labels on loddigesii and lontaroides need to be swapped with each other. Beautiful palms.

[Trópico]

David,

Your labels are correct. My two blue latans are green and red, just like yours. This is a characteristic of the seedling/juvenile stage.

[Walter John]

Hmmm.... love Latanias, I heard there's hybridising happening with these guys

[David Clulow]

I have checked quite carefully on the internet and now think that Kim was originally correct and Pez hit the nail on the head and is correct. The error occurred in two distinct ways. First, in the Botanic Garden in Caracas, there is at least one large fruiting L. loddigesii which is labelled L. lontaroides and I suspect that the nursery from which I purchased my seedlings obtained its seeds from there and just copied the incorrect label. A few years later I also collected some seeds off this specimen and used the name on the BG label. And secondly, quite a coincidence, the seeds I received from RPS as L.loddigesii turned out to be in fact L. lontaroides. Here is the PACSOA photo from the internet of L. lontaroides:

Compare it to this photo taken this morning:

I think you will have to agree that they are the same

So I have changed the label. The system I use is very simple, very inexpensive and fast, it takes only seconds to prepare a new label and cost pennies

Here is a photo of Latania loddigesii off the internet and I'm sure you will agree that it closely matched the specimen I posted yesterday:

[Jonas]

I am happy to see that the L. Loddigesii can be this colour at it early stage. I have two small seedlings, about 20 cm, that have this nice red petiole and yellow leafs. I have had some problems with the id of many of my seedlings since my two small dogs messed up all the seeds one night.

I will post som pictures next week..

Thanks for nice photos and important info..

saludos...

Jonas

Rurrenabaque - Bolivia