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Elaeis guineensis - a bifid leaf mutation?

PalmatierMeg

By PalmatierMeg
in DISCUSSING PALM TREES WORLDWIDE

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PalmatierMeg Grand Master

PalmatierMeg

Posted
Posted

A couple years ago PT member T J Walters of Bowie, MD, sent me an unusual African oil palm seedling that was still bifid at an age when most oils have started to go pinnate. I kept it in a tree pot until last spring when I planted it in my back yard jungle beside the stump of one of my late queen palms. It is now over 4' tall and still has only bifid leaves. Has anyone else seen or owned a similar palm?

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  • Upvote 1

Meg

Palms of Victory I shall wear

Cape Coral (It's Just Paradise)
Florida
Zone 10A on the Isabelle Canal
Elevation: 15 feet

I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus' garden in the shade.

tjwalters Veteran

tjwalters

Posted
Posted

Lookin' good, Meg! Glad it's doing well. I think I remember the person from whom I received the seeds telling me the entire-leaved forms were not at all uncommon in his area. Wish I could remember the area - somewhere in Asia, I think.

Tom

Bowie, Maryland, USA - USDA z7a/b
hardiestpalms.com

tropicbreeze Grand Master

tropicbreeze

Posted
Posted

They can hold their bifid leaves for quite while. A lot of mine do, but I try to weed them out before they get too established. Otherwise they just take over the place.

Josh-O Grand Master

Josh-O

Posted
Posted

I wish I could grow those over here in California. Or can I ??

Carlsbad, California Zone 10 B on the hill (402 ft. elevation)

Sunset zone 24

  • 4 years later...
Abingos Newbie

Abingos

Posted
Posted (edited)

Here are some pictures. These were taken in southeastern Nigeria, where the bifid elaesis guineensis is native but quite rare.  Here are the seeds produced by the bifid elaesis guineensis. They are dramatically different from the fruits produced by the regular non-bifid elaesis guineensis. I have heard that only 1 or 2% of these seeds would germinate into the bifid version. The rest will grow into regular oil palm. Does anyone have an explanation for this?

seeds.jpg

Edited by Abingos
Abingos Newbie

Abingos

Posted
Posted

Below is what the grown palm looks like. The  mature plan is distinctly distinguishable from the regular elaesis guineensis, but in my opinion far less dramatic than the young tree. There is only one bifid version in this picture. The rest are regular elaesis guineensis.

mature.jpeg

  • Upvote 1
Abingos Newbie

Abingos

Posted
Posted (edited)

Here we are digging out a young bifid seedling from the forest. This seedling sprouted at the base of a mature bifid tree. However, most of the other seedlings around the mature tree were regular non-bifid versions.  As there are many palms in the vicinity,  the seedlings could have been from the bifid or regular versions of the palms

digingout2.jpeg

Edited by Abingos
  • Upvote 1
Abingos Newbie

Abingos

Posted
Posted

Here is the bifid seedling .. after we transplanted it into a home garden. Hoping it survives :)

transplanted.jpg

  • Upvote 1
Abingos Newbie

Abingos

Posted
Posted (edited)

Finally, here is an, er, "teenage" version of the palm in Port Harcourt, Eastern Nigerian. This tree is an estimated 7 years  old. This tree produces fruit, but according to the owner, only 1 or 2 percent of the fruits produced grown into bifid palms. The rest grow into regular elaesis guineensis.

Has any studies been done on this? Does anyone have an explanation?

fromph.jpg

Edited by Abingos
  • Upvote 1
PalmatierMeg Grand Master

PalmatierMeg

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Maybe a palm geneticist might be able to explain (or not) but I'm not that person. Genetics is a complicated science. My bifid oil is till bifid - leaves are about 15' long and it is doing its job of shading my back yard jungle.

  • Upvote 1

Meg

Palms of Victory I shall wear

Cape Coral (It's Just Paradise)
Florida
Zone 10A on the Isabelle Canal
Elevation: 15 feet

I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus' garden in the shade.

Missi Grand Master

Missi

Posted
Posted
16 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Maybe a palm geneticist might be able to explain (or not) but I'm not that person. Genetics is a complicated science. My bifid oil is till bifid - leaves are about 15' long and it is doing its job of shading my back yard jungle.

If you have a couple spare moments, can you post a recent pic?

Naples (inland), FL - technically 10a but more like 9b in the winter :hmm:

PalmatierMeg Grand Master

PalmatierMeg

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Updated photos per Missi's request. My bifid african oil continues to power along in its jungle spot alongside the Isabelle Canal. The jungle is so intentionally dense that it is almost impossible to get a photo of it from a distance. I tried from across the canal but it blended with with the rest of the canopy as its planted behind some Dypsis and Veitchias. But I did get views of our back yard jungle.

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So, I had to venture into the jungle to photograph it in pieces. In summer it does a stellar job of shielding understory palms from the ferocious sun.

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  • Upvote 6

Meg

Palms of Victory I shall wear

Cape Coral (It's Just Paradise)
Florida
Zone 10A on the Isabelle Canal
Elevation: 15 feet

I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus' garden in the shade.

PalmatierMeg Grand Master

PalmatierMeg

Posted
  • Author
Posted

More photos

5c1bc04e62de5_Elaeisguineensisbifid0412-5c1bc05ebd41f_Elaeisguineensisbifid0512-5c1bc070d4ae5_Elaeisguineensisbifid0612-5c1bc07d9f271_Elaeisguineensisbifid0712-

  • Like 1
  • Upvote 3

Meg

Palms of Victory I shall wear

Cape Coral (It's Just Paradise)
Florida
Zone 10A on the Isabelle Canal
Elevation: 15 feet

I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus' garden in the shade.

Missi Grand Master

Missi

Posted
Posted

OH MAN MEG!!! It's MAGNIFICENT!!! It almost looks like a Salacca! Thanks so much for these photos. What a beautiful jungle you have!!

Naples (inland), FL - technically 10a but more like 9b in the winter :hmm:

Missi Grand Master

Missi

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, PalmatierMeg said:

More photos

What a treasure! :wub:

Naples (inland), FL - technically 10a but more like 9b in the winter :hmm:

PalmatierMeg Grand Master

PalmatierMeg

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks. Maybe if they all looked like this people wouldn't hate them so much.

Meg

Palms of Victory I shall wear

Cape Coral (It's Just Paradise)
Florida
Zone 10A on the Isabelle Canal
Elevation: 15 feet

I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus' garden in the shade.

Missi Grand Master

Missi

Posted
Posted
23 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Thanks. Maybe if they all looked like this people wouldn't hate them so much.

People hate them? Do they hate them because famers are destroying rainforest to grow groves of them? That's the only reason I can see hating them. I love them though. I have two normal ones in my front yard.

Naples (inland), FL - technically 10a but more like 9b in the winter :hmm:

Fusca Grand Master

Fusca

Posted
Posted
Just now, Missi said:

People hate them? Do they hate them because famers are destroying rainforest to grow groves of them? That's the only reason I can see hating them. I love them though. I have two normal ones in my front yard.

I believe that's the reason.  Meg's is awesome but I really like the normal ones too!  @Walt has a nice one. :mellow:

 

  • Upvote 1

Jon Sunder

palmfriend Grand Master

palmfriend

Posted
Posted

Beautiful photos - and your jungle looks great!

The Elaeis looks spectacular! At that size still bifid, somehow mystical...

Thank you for sharing -

best regards 

Lars

 

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