Striking Palm

[palmislandRandy]

The sun was hitting this just right to catch my eye as I was driving by. My closest guess is Mauritia flexuosa, but it just doesn't look quite right. It looks like a distichous bizzie! What do you think?

 

-Randy

[Josh-O]

It's awesome looking but at the same time it looks weird.

 

The trunk seems skinny for a bizzy dont you think?

[akaranus]

wow 

 

it looks like dypsis decary x bismarckia 

 

[palmislandRandy]

It's awesome looking but at the same time it looks weird.

 

The trunk seems skinny for a bizzy dont you think?

Josh, A lot of Bizzies in Florida often have slimmer trunks than it's California grown cousins. This thing is a freak.

[palmislandRandy]

wow 

 

it looks like dypsis decary x bismarckia 

More like a Dypsis bicaryi x bismarckia. It has growth on only two opposite sides (distichous)!

[Bill H2DB]

wow 

 

it looks like dypsis decary x bismarckia 

 

With a little Travelers Tree thrown in .

[dalmatiansoap]

Bismarckia distcha 

[Josh-O]

It's awesome looking but at the same time it looks weird.

 

The trunk seems skinny for a bizzy dont you think?

Josh, A lot of Bizzies in Florida often have slimmer trunks than it's California grown cousins. This thing is a freak.

I wish I had this palm growing in my yard. It has a ton of character for sure

[palmislandRandy]

Is it in fact a Bismarkia though?

[rick]

is this the same one? http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/46443-weird-bismarcks/ 

[Josh-O]

is this the same one? http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/46443-weird-bismarcks/ 

that is very weird looking but at the same time awesome. try to germinate from that tree and see what happens??

[foxtail]

Electricity damage?

[palmislandRandy]

is this the same one? http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/46443-weird-bismarcks/ 

No, Jerry & I live nearby but this is a different palm. 

[palmislandRandy]

is this the same one? http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/46443-weird-bismarcks/ 

that is very weird looking but at the same time awesome. try to germinate from that tree and see what happens??

I'll keep an eye out for seeds

[Chris Chance]

Very interesting. It looks weird and cool at the same time.  Could it be some sort of stress or disease that caused it to be a new species. It looks healthy but I agree it should be considered Bizmarkia distcha 

[Sandy Loam]

Here is another one in Boca Raton, Florida:

https://www.google.com/maps/@26.3503054,-80.1037631,3a,15y,113.41h,99.7t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1ssY_2ffeFtgrYX9QI_jKBsA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

 

[Josh-O]

Sandy from the picture they look very similar. I wonder if it some kind of nutrient deficiency? 

[Pando]

Here is another one in Boca Raton, Florida:

https://www.google.com/maps/@26.3503054,-80.1037631,3a,15y,113.41h,99.7t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1ssY_2ffeFtgrYX9QI_jKBsA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

 

I'd say that's the exact same palm. Here is the google earth street view taken from the angle the picture in the original post was taken:

https://www.google.com/maps/@26.3501776,-80.1038906,3a,50.3y,87.66h,89.56t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1ssAany22S77NjC3MkmeYa_Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

So far I haven't seen a photo of another palm with similar attributes. I'd say it's some kind of one-of-a-kind genetic freakosaurus. Someone should grab some seeds...

 

[palmislandRandy]

Here is another one in Boca Raton, Florida:

https://www.google.com/maps/@26.3503054,-80.1037631,3a,15y,113.41h,99.7t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1ssY_2ffeFtgrYX9QI_jKBsA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

 

That's it! Same palm. It's on Palmetto Park Rd, between I95 & Dixie Hwy. 

 

I'll go by this week & knock on their door (won't be the first time i bothered someone regarding their palm) & see if they have any history on it.

Edited September 26, 2015 by palmislandRandy

[Jerry@TreeZoo]

is this the same one? http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/46443-weird-bismarcks/ 

There are two Freaky Bizzies in my post and this is one of them.  It looks to have been growing this way for years and is oriented perfectly north and south.  It is too far from the power lines for them to have any influence.  I am guessing it is completely genetic.

[rick]

I don't think it's genetic, it had some sort of damage to the growing point. In Google maps you can go back and look at previous images. In Nov 2007 and May 2011 it looks like a normal bizzie then in April 2014 and June 2015 its become distichous although the plain of growth appears to shifted from a NE/SW to a N/S orientation in that 14 months. Also in Randy's photos just above the bushes you can see the trunk getting thinner and in the Google maps image you can see the leaf scar pattern changing. Maybe it was struck by lightning?