Syagrus flexuosa x romanzoffiana is flowering

[PalmatierMeg]

Back in 2009 Mark Heath sent me two seedlings of a Syagrus flexuosa x romanzoffiana hybrid he had made. This fall the largest palm finally flowered. It took so long (compared to my pure queens) to do so that I began to wonder if it was sterile. This palm is huge, esp. compared to its rather shrubby flexuosa mother. And so far (fingers crossed) it hasn't fallen victim to the fusarium wilt that wiped out all the large queens surrounding it. See links to previous PalmTalk and PACSOA topics below for more info regarding this hybrid:

http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/24328-syagrus-flexuosa-x-romanzoffiana/

http://www.pacsoa.org.au/wiki/Syagrus_x_andrequiceana

According to PACSOA seeds of this hybrid will be 4-5cm long and 2.5cm wide, which is substantially larger than either parent. The flowers are just opening and I have no more queens to contribute pollen. Is this hybrid self fertile? What might its offspring resemble? Might there be interest in germinating seeds (assuming they are fertile)? Or should I plan on cutting them down to prevent annoying litter? Anything someone can tell me about this hybrid is greatly appreciated.

Today I took the following photos of this palm, which resides on the eastern edge of my World's Tiniest Jungle. Note this palm holds tightly to almost all of its boots. And trunk coloring differs from the typical queen. I think its a nifty palm that is more attractive than its parents. What do you all think?

Syagrus flexuosa x romanzoffiana, Cape Coral, FL

[Ben in Norcal]

Nice Meg!  I just got a 15g one of these, need to figure out where to put it!  Look forward to hearing if yours is self-fertile.

[Josh-O]

Meg, its hard to tell in the pictures but is yours fairly upright in leaf structure?

I think I have one that size that came in around the same time as yours marked syagrus hybrid. I wonder if I have the same tree as yours?

[PalmatierMeg]

4 hours ago, Josh-O said:

Meg, its hard to tell in the pictures but is yours fairly upright in leaf structure?

I think I have one that size that came in around the same time as yours marked syagrus hybrid. I wonder if I have the same tree as yours?

I went outside before dark to study it from a distance. Yes, to my failing eyes it does have a much more upright leaf structure than a queen. Leaves stand well above horizontal. Only when the oldest leaf dies back does it droop. Good question as I hadn't noticed this trait before. As to whether your palm and mine are the same hybrid I can't say. You weren't on PT back in 2009, were you? Mark Heath was experimenting with hybridizing Syagrus back then but I'm not sure he was selling them - he generously gifted mine to me. Where did yours come from?

[Josh-O]

17 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

I went outside before dark to study it from a distance. Yes, to my failing eyes it does have a much more upright leaf structure than a queen. Leaves stand well above horizontal. Only when the oldest leaf dies back does it droop. Good question as I hadn't noticed this trait before. As to whether your palm and mine are the same hybrid I can't say. You weren't on PT back in 2009, were you? Mark Heath was experimenting with hybridizing Syagrus back then but I'm not sure he was selling them - he generously gifted mine to me. Where did yours come from?

I got mine 3rd hand from an old time collector. He had it in a 24" box and I picked it up about 3 yrs ago. when I say your pictures it looked a lot like mine. I'll try to go take pic's this coming weekend to show you what mine looks like.

[Josh-O]

Meg, here are some pictures of my syagrus hybrid I took today for you to check out.

 

it looks a ton like yours to my eye.

 

what do you think?

 

 

[Josh-O]

On 12/3/2016, 3:48:06, PalmatierMeg said:

I went outside before dark to study it from a distance. Yes, to my failing eyes it does have a much more upright leaf structure than a queen. Leaves stand well above horizontal. Only when the oldest leaf dies back does it droop. Good question as I hadn't noticed this trait before. As to whether your palm and mine are the same hybrid I can't say. You weren't on PT back in 2009, were you? Mark Heath was experimenting with hybridizing Syagrus back then but I'm not sure he was selling them - he generously gifted mine to me. Where did yours come from?

what do you think about the one I have posted below?