Help ID Chamaedorea

[ron@springhammock]

Pulled this guy out while working on my spring cleaning and realized I still have no idea what this is.  I was going to wait until it started to flower before I offered it up for identification, but after seven years of waiting I decided to try now.  This came from wild collected seed, either from Belize or Guatemala.  Still waiting for it to form a trunk; it's about 3 inches wide at the base.

[ron@springhammock]

Stem detail.

[ron@springhammock]

Leaf detail.  Note the gap on the rachis.  older leaves had one, now there's two.

[Zac in NC]

I don't know which one it is, but its a huge honking Chamaedorea. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

Zac

[paulgila]

that is really a beautiful palm.they always seem more special(to me,alt least)when you grow 'em from seed

rather than buy 'em somewhere

[Walter John]

Very nice plant. I don't know what it is sorry.

[ron@springhammock]

Thanks guys for your comments.  I do think it's special since I collected the seed myself; I just wish I remembered from where.  I do remember having a scare at the Guatemala border since they missed stamping my passport; giving me a hard time in Spanish (sprechen sie deutsch?) and there I stood with my pockets full of palm seed.

I know it's not a Dypsis palm, but can anybody make a guess?

[Kamipalms]

Ron,

you have a Chamaedorea imposter..... Not a true Chamaedorea but often confused as one and, comes from the same habit. Often growing side by side with Chamaedorea.

The grouped leafletts help to confuse the situation but there are only  2 Cham. species bearing grouped leafletts- C.klotzschiana and C.glaucifolia.

The lack of a sheath also says 'I aint no Chamaedorea'

What you have is in fact Synechanthus fibrosus and their monoecious to boot.

Jason.

[chris.oz]

Jason,

Good call.  I combed "the book" and could not find the palm in the keys.  I dont think there are any Chammies with the same coloration at the leaf base,  and it is not that common for Chammies to carry so many leaves.... or in other words for the leaves to be so persistent. The larger chammies also have crown shafts or .... pseudo crownshafts.

Ron,

Looks like you added a species to the list of cold tolerant palms,  to survive Fla freezes even under an eave.... thats good.

[ron@springhammock]

Jason, you awe and amaze me.  I didn’t realize how excited I was to finally get an answer until you came up with one…thank you, thank you, thank you and again thank you.  I figured it would have to take an Aussie to id a neo-tropical palm ???

I had it so entrenched in my mind that all I collected were under-story Chamaedorea and Bactris palms that I was totally stuck on Chamaedoreas.  I must have spent forever leafing through Hodel’s book looking for any clue, never considering another genus. Yet again thank you, thank you and again thank you.

Chris, I haven’t subjected this palm to an actual hard freeze, but its done fine at a frostless ~-1C.  It seems to be an excellent container palm, needing very little attention.  Sorry to miss-lead on the genus, but thanks anyways for your effort.