syagrus abreojos vs regular queen

[Axel Amsterdam]

These grow in Portugal side by side. First google image is from 2014. The dark green foliage and silvery petioles on the abreojos are quite distinct

[Axel Amsterdam]

And in 2023. Slow trunk growth but it kept it’s special features

[Axel Amsterdam]

From a different angle the differences are more clear

 

[quaman58]

Queen palms have been in cultivation for a long time, and so there's a lot of variability to them.  Around town here, some of the older ones are very thin trunked and quite graceful looking. Most of the one's I've grown very robust, with heavy trunks. Until I had it removed a couple years ago, I had one very similar looking to the one on the left. I would always joke that it was trying to look like an Attalea, with much more upright, less plumose leaves. As far as the "abreojos" variety, that original story was nonsense as far as I could tell; it was just another unusual, variable queen that had been grown from seed. I know of none that were anything but, well, variable in their appearance.

[Phoenikakias]

Hey @Than, the Syagrus you took from me has been seed-grown from a specimen like the one on the left.

[MJSanDiego]

Alberto in Brazil says otherwise about Abreojos. @Alberto can you comment or clarify on Abreojos?

[Than]

2 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

Hey @Than, the Syagrus you took from me has been seed-grown from a specimen like the one on the left.

Really? Its leaves look like a normal Syagrus to me

[tim_brissy_13]

Having never seen an ‘abreojos’ in person, photos I saw online of it always seemed to fit within the normal variability that I see with S rom (of course it’s hard to tell some features through photo like the weight of the fronds as has been described). That being said, these images are the best representation I’ve seen of something that does look atypical for S rom. @Axel Amsterdam do you know the background of this palm? Did it come from the ‘abreojos’ cultivated in CA? Am I right in saying many seed grown specimens from that tree have turned out to be normal? Perhaps it’s a mutation we’re are looking at rather than a distinct variation. 

[Axel Amsterdam]

I am afraid i have no background on this palm. I found it by chance as i was looking what can be grown in the warm south of portugal. I called it abreojos as i am aware of all the posts over the years on abreojos and this one is the closest match i have seen in Europe.

From reading older posts it seems quite a number of seed grown specimens do not match the specific features of this parent, although some seem to be a bit more plumose than regular queens.

The deep dark green and erect plumose fronds with silver petioles is what makes this palm stand out for me. From all the pictures i have seen of beefy santa catarina/parana queens, i don’t recall seeing one with these specific features. There certainly are beautiful queens around, but this one is really different imo. But maybe Alberto has more info whether this form exists in southern Brasil.

[Fusca]

There are definitely differences between the two but what strikes me is the vertical growth speed (or lack there of).  Less than 2 m growth in 9 years?  I guess it's not getting regular watering and fertilizer.  Too bad the one on the right is so over trimmed.

[Axel Amsterdam]

I think this palm of Psy460 comes close to the characteristics of the palm above. 

Apparantly it was bought as a queen x jubaea (not the reverse) from Patrick. It has the dark green leaflets and the silver petioles. A hybrid could also explain the fact that the offspring of ‘ abreojos’  are more queen influenced, being pollinated with regular queens.

[Josue Diaz]

You find queens with that shuttlecock form occasionally throughout California. I've seen a handful of them myself, but I think that's just genetic. I've posted photos on here of a similar one growing at a gas station. 

 

This is an "abreojos" grown from the original California "abreojos" seed. As mentioned by others, it definitely looks nice, but it doesn't look like the original. 

 

[Axel Amsterdam]

3 hours ago, Josue Diaz said:

You find queens with that shuttlecock form occasionally throughout California. I've seen a handful of them myself, but I think that's just genetic. I've posted photos on here of a similar one growing at a gas station. 

 

This is an "abreojos" grown from the original California "abreojos" seed. As mentioned by others, it definitely looks nice, but it doesn't look like the original. 

 

Thanks, i found a 2009 streetview image of the palm and it definitely had the shuttlecock appearance, albeit with light green/no nutrients fronds. It also seems to have had fast growth from 2009 to2014

[Josue Diaz]

12 minutes ago, Axel Amsterdam said:

Thanks, i found a 2009 streetview image of the palm and it definitely had the shuttlecock appearance, albeit with light green/no nutrients fronds. It also seems to have had fast growth from 2009 to2014

 

Here is one that is like yours that i've seen in a town near me. 

[Axel Amsterdam]

Very clear from this older image