Brahea calcarea

[ExperimentalGrower]

Brahea calcarea acquired today. Thx to the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek, CA. Very much looking forward to sinking this palm. Third pic is of RBG’s calcarea in the ground. Any growers of this species? Bucket list ✔️

[Jim in Los Altos]

Mine’s about 20 years old. Easy grower. 
 

[sfmartha]

I think I was admiring that exact plant at the Ruth Bancroft Garden this past weekend!  By the way, they also have a couple Beccariophoenix in the greenhouse tent, sort of jammed behind a table near the back. 

[ExperimentalGrower]

1 hour ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

Mine’s about 20 years old. Easy grower. 
 

Is that 20 years from seed, Jim?

What’s the estimated crown width on yours?

[Jim in Los Altos]

1 hour ago, ExperimentalGrower said:

Is that 20 years from seed, Jim?

What’s the estimated crown width on yours?

Approximately 20 years from a tiny seedling, Justin. Crown width is roughly 13 feet. 

[Harry’s Palms]

This variety looks like a much smaller trunk than the Edulis or Armata ? Harry

[Fusca]

One of my favorite Braheas.  Grew well for me in San Antonio before the February 2021 freeze.  No thorns on the petioles is a definite plus!   

[ExperimentalGrower]

11 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

This variety looks like a much smaller trunk than the Edulis or Armata ? Harry

I believe when leaf bases are off it’s definitely slimmer than armata and possibly edulis.

[ExperimentalGrower]

2 hours ago, Fusca said:

One of my favorite Braheas.  Grew well for me in San Antonio before the February 2021 freeze.  No thorns on the petioles is a definite plus!   

That freeze kill it? Texas weather has been trying to give Minnesota a run for its money the last handful of winters.

[ExperimentalGrower]

On 3/12/2024 at 10:11 PM, sfmartha said:

I think I was admiring that exact plant at the Ruth Bancroft Garden this past weekend!  By the way, they also have a couple Beccariophoenix in the greenhouse tent, sort of jammed behind a table near the back. 

They sure do, they’ve moved them up front and now they’re 50% off. Quite a deal.

[Fusca]

22 hours ago, ExperimentalGrower said:

That freeze kill it? Texas weather has been trying to give Minnesota a run for its money the last handful of winters.

Yes, that freeze really caught me off guard.  I simply ran out of protection materials and just hoped for the best with the Brahea but 9°F proved to be too much without help.  Coldest temps in the area since 1989.

[Marius]

My two grown from seeds bought in 2015. 

[Marius]

This is my blue calcarea. 

[Marius]

Two more taken today. 

[pietropuccio]

Hi, I believe that the palm in the last photos is a Brahea decumbens.

[bruce Steele]

Brahea Decumbens has armored petioles and Brahea Calcerea has smooth petioles. Most all brahea have armed petioles except Calcerea so it is a good way to identify them.  The picture from Marius is of a Brahea will smooth petioles. 

[ExperimentalGrower]

9 hours ago, pietropuccio said:

Hi, I believe that the palm in the last photos is a Brahea decumbens.

Without armored petioles I don’t it could be anything but calcarea. To my knowledge there are two forms, the green form with droopy leaflet tips and the blue form with strict leaflets.  Likely also some intermediate forms.

[Fusca]

1 hour ago, ExperimentalGrower said:

Without armored petioles I don’t it could be anything but calcarea. To my knowledge there are two forms, the green form with droopy leaflet tips and the blue form with strict leaflets.  Likely also some intermediate forms.

Brahea 'super silver' is also unarmed but it does not start out silver.  I bought a 5-gal 'super silver' from Joe Palma in 2021 and it's still green.  Hoping it will start turning silver soon!   

[ExperimentalGrower]

58 minutes ago, Fusca said:

Brahea 'super silver' is also unarmed but it does not start out silver.  I bought a 5-gal 'super silver' from Joe Palma in 2021 and it's still green.  Hoping it will start turning silver soon!   

Have read they’re one of the slowest of all Brahea?

[BayAndroid]

6 hours ago, ExperimentalGrower said:

Have read they’re one of the slowest of all Brahea?

I read that some said it was pretty fast with enough heat and water. Without that, probably they will be slow. 

[pietropuccio]

The Brahea without thorns, or almost so, are the moorei, the calcarea, which can rarely have very small thorns at the base of the petiole, and the decumbens, which has very small thorns at the base of the petiole, sometimes almost invisible (photo). B. 'Super Silver' is currently unclear whether it is a species or a hybrid.

[Marius]

12 hours ago, pietropuccio said:

The Brahea without thorns, or almost so, are the moorei, the calcarea, which can rarely have very small thorns at the base of the petiole, and the decumbens, which has very small thorns at the base of the petiole, sometimes almost invisible (photo). B. 'Super Silver' is currently unclear whether it is a species or a hybrid.

How prominent are the thorns on dulcis?  I have three blue grey Braheas that have been thornless but it now looks if they will maybe have weak thorns when they get older. They just look ‘finer’ / more dainty than my blue grey nitida. Petioles are thin compared to leaf size and the beginning of the trunk looks thin too. 
ill go take pictures shortly and post them 

[Marius]

It seems that now that I’ve looked up close ( trimmed fronds) that the thorns were wishful thinking. They have tomentum though. Otherwise the petioles look pretty smooth.

The plants still look finer than the calcarea that I posted earlier. It’s planted about 5m away from them. 
Please take a look at the pictures and share your thoughts. 

[pietropuccio]

Hi Marius,
B. dulcis has thorns 2-4 mm long along the entire petiole, so it should be excluded, furthermore the shape of the leaf is quite particular. In your latest photos I seem to see very small thorns at the base of some petioles, but perhaps it is a photographic effect. Whatever your species, it can be helpful to see the marked difference between the hastula of B. decumbens and B. calcarea. If you then have patience and wait for flowering there can be no doubts, the inflorescence of the decumbens is short and upwards, that of the calcarea is very long and pendulous.

 

 

[Marius]

14 hours ago, pietropuccio said:

Hi Marius,
B. dulcis has thorns 2-4 mm long along the entire petiole, so it should be excluded, furthermore the shape of the leaf is quite particular. In your latest photos I seem to see very small thorns at the base of some petioles, but perhaps it is a photographic effect. Whatever your species, it can be helpful to see the marked difference between the hastula of B. decumbens and B. calcarea. If you then have patience and wait for flowering there can be no doubts, the inflorescence of the decumbens is short and upwards, that of the calcarea is very long and pendulous.

 

 

Thanks very much. Are there other Brahea species ( excluding armata and clara) that it could be that sometimes have similar blue grey leaves?

[pietropuccio]

Bismarckia, Copernicia hospita, Hyphaene petersiana, Latania loddigesii, Medemia, Nannorrhops, Serenoa can have more or less bluish forms. The silvery-bluish gray color is due to a waxy layer which has the function of reflecting part of the solar radiation, it is therefore found in palms that grow in sunny and rather arid areas.

[Marius]

On 3/19/2024 at 8:17 PM, pietropuccio said:

Bismarckia, Copernicia hospita, Hyphaene petersiana, Latania loddigesii, Medemia, Nannorrhops, Serenoa can have more or less bluish forms. The silvery-bluish gray color is due to a waxy layer which has the function of reflecting part of the solar radiation, it is therefore found in palms that grow in sunny and rather arid areas.

Thanks. Yes, know that. I asked if other Brahea species are sometimes blue. 
 

I researched it myself and found that most of them have a blue grey form. It’s a very confusing genus. 

[pietropuccio]

3 hours ago, Marius said:

Thanks. Yes, know that. I asked if other Brahea species are sometimes blue.

Sorry, I'm very old and stupid 😀
Incidentally, Brahea clara is not considered a species but a form of the armata, a notoriously very variable species.