My Needle Palm Is Flowering!

[PalmTreeDude]

My Needle Palm (Rhapidophyllum hystrix) is finally flowering! I won’t get any seed off of it (if it is a female, I’m still not sure what it is yet and don’t know how to tell) because I only have one and there are none close by that I know of. But it is still really cool, and is my first palm to ever flower! 

[Chester B]

As far as flowers go they're pretty ugly.  My big one is flowering right now, it's a female.  It develops infertile seeds that end up rotting.

[kinzyjr]

3 hours ago, PalmTreeDude said:

My Needle Palm (Rhapidophyllum hystrix) is finally flowering! I won’t get any seed off of it (if it is a female, I’m still not sure what it is yet and don’t know how to tell) because I only have one and there are none close by that I know of. But it is still really cool, and is my first palm to ever flower!

Nice work!  You need a few more.  Some are hermaphroditic.

[PalmTreeDude]

Update... Can anyone tell if this is male or female? 

[PalmTreeDude]

Closer... 

 

Edited June 18, 2020 by PalmTreeDude

[Darold Petty]

My guess (and just that)  would be female, as the yellowish bit looks like a pistill, rather than a stamen.

[Manalto]

Rhapidophyllum hystrix needs a genetic shot in the arm. Is there anything it will hybridize with?

[Manalto]

On 6/18/2020 at 6:16 PM, Manalto said:

Rhapidophyllum hystrix needs a genetic shot in the arm. Is there anything it will hybridize with?

Plus, it's got a bad attitude and impressive cold hardiness to contribute!

[SEVA]

The inflorescences on yours appear to be female. My last needle palm to bloom finally bloomed this year and turned out to be male. The rest of my needle palms are female, so I made an attempt to pollinate them. I've attached photos below of some of the inflorescences.

Rhapidophyllum hystrix female inflorescence

 

Rhapidophyllum hystrix male inflorescence

 

[CodyORB]

On 6/19/2020 at 10:27 PM, Manalto said:

On 6/18/2020 at 7:16 PM, Manalto said:

Rhapidophyllum hystrix needs a genetic shot in the arm. Is there anything it will hybridize with?

Plus, it's got a bad attitude and impressive cold hardiness to contribute!

It's in the same subtribe as Chamaerops, which could apparently see more "wet cold" hardiness w/o fungal infections.

If we're really going out there we'll do Copernicia and Colpothrinax, I'd love to see those make it at least in Florida!

Speaking of Copernicia, I wonder how the fronds would behave with a theoretical x macroglossa! 

Edited July 8, 2020 by CodyORB

[LivistonaFan]

On 5/28/2020 at 1:26 AM, Chester B said:

As far as flowers go they're pretty ugly.  My big one is flowering right now, it's a female.  It develops infertile seeds that end up rotting.

That means that the seeds of my needle palm are infertile as well? I knew needle palms are dioecious and was quite surprised to see seeds on it. It flowered this year for the first time and I am about 1000% sure there are no other needle palms in the neighborhood (especially no flowering ones).