A very common uncommon Palm

[tropicbreeze]

It would have to be the most common palm here (endemic to the Top End of the Northern Territory) but never seen it in nurseries. It's Livistona humilis.  Unlike Carpentaria Palms which, though not as common but still very frequently seen in the wild, are nevertheless frequently sold in nurseries.

One of the best sights is seeing them from slightly above when they're flowering en masse. The inflorescences are held above the crown and it's just a sea of yellow extending as far as you can see into the woodlands.

Dwarfed by their taller cousins from the same family.

[Jonathan]

You couldn't accuse them of being grandiose like their taller cousins but they're pretty cute, scruffy little buggers. Do they ever grow in wetter areas, like riverbanks, or always scrubby Euc forest? Just wondering whether they would hold more leaves and look a bit fuller under easier conditions?? Looks like tough country.

[Jonathan]

Having said that, looking closely, some in the last pic above seem to have a pretty full crown, and look really neat! The pic below, pilfered off the net, shows how they can look in cultivation...I'd be very happy to have them in my garden.

[tim_brissy_13]

4 minutes ago, Jonathan said:

Having said that, looking closely, some in the last pic above seem to have a pretty full crown, and look really neat! The pic below, pilfered off the net, shows how they can look in cultivation...I'd be very happy to have them in my garden.

Definitely. Their smaller stature would be a real positive for many gardens where most Livistona species aren’t suitable due to their footprint. There’s a collector in rural Victoria growing them from seed, I’ll have to check in to see how he’s doing with them. I suspect, based on their habitat, they are tricky to grow in anything outside a seasonal tropical climate with consistent extreme heat and that’s probably why we don’t see them in cultivation more often. I still remember seeing them in Kakadu when I was about 12. They certainly are prolific in habitat. 

[Jonathan]

2 minutes ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

Definitely. Their smaller stature would be a real positive for many gardens where most Livistona species aren’t suitable due to their footprint. There’s a collector in rural Victoria growing them from seed, I’ll have to check in to see how he’s doing with them. I suspect, based on their habitat, they are tricky to grow in anything outside a seasonal tropical climate with consistent extreme heat and that’s probably why we don’t see them in cultivation more often. I still remember seeing them in Kakadu when I was about 12. They certainly are prolific in habitat. 

Would be very interesting to know how they go Victoria Tim. Not that I think they'd have a chance in hell down here, but would make a super cute large pot plant on a sunny verandah.

[aabell]

Beautiful little palm. I agree it would be a good one for cultivation but must be a tough one to grow. Here's the habitat on streetview:

amazing spot with cycads and pandanus - https://maps.app.goo.gl/drqRLn83vuV5nRi87

https://maps.app.goo.gl/nFGJZ7aQB1Xmd5ao6

https://maps.app.goo.gl/CxFw8j7Svo6m7uANA

winter dryness - https://maps.app.goo.gl/15bEigzULuujwpgs6

 

 

[Jonathan]

9 hours ago, aabell said:

Beautiful little palm. I agree it would be a good one for cultivation but must be a tough one to grow. Here's the habitat on streetview:

amazing spot with cycads and pandanus - https://maps.app.goo.gl/drqRLn83vuV5nRi87

https://maps.app.goo.gl/nFGJZ7aQB1Xmd5ao6

https://maps.app.goo.gl/CxFw8j7Svo6m7uANA

winter dryness - https://maps.app.goo.gl/15bEigzULuujwpgs6

 

 

Thanks for the virtual tour, very nice! I haven't been to the NT yet but have done several camping trips around the savannah areas of North Queensland, beautiful, subtle country with amazing plant and animal diversity.

[tropicbreeze]

These photos were all taken in the one area where I was exploring recently. But sights like this are very common. This next photo is a different location showing plants with a fuller crown, also common.

They do grow in a range of habitats but are no shirkers when it comes to harsh conditions. One place I found them that surprised me was on the edge of a lagoon up on a sandstone/sand plateau. It was the wet season and the water level was high. The palms were near the edge standing in shallow water. This would have persisted over a number of months with no ill effect on the palms. Yet, I don't see them on creek banks. Maybe the creeks have too much canopy, near the lagoon it was very open.

[ZPalms]

Very nice, I looked on palmpedia and said they arent tolerant of cool temperatures? seems like it would make such a easy plant to protect but if coolness is the end all of it?

[tropicbreeze]

Like Coconuts, can take a bit of cool during the night provided it heats up a lot during the day. Unlike Coconuts, they come in a nice compact size. Being very slow growing means they'd remain a compact plant for a long time. How they'd deal with indoors and no direct sun for long periods is another matter.

[Jonathan]

There's a challenge! Maybe we could convince you to send some seeds down south if you happen across some at a later date? I reckon @tim_brissy_13 would join me in that experiment!

 

[happypalms]

Nice habitat shots start collecting the seeds the palm world needs such beautiful palms.

[happypalms]

7 hours ago, Jonathan said:

There's a challenge! Maybe we could convince you to send some seeds down south if you happen across some at a later date? I reckon @tim_brissy_13 would join me in that experiment!

 

I have heard about Tasmanians and experimentation with all sorts of different things 🤣

[tim_brissy_13]

8 hours ago, Jonathan said:

There's a challenge! Maybe we could convince you to send some seeds down south if you happen across some at a later date? I reckon @tim_brissy_13 would join me in that experiment!

 

For sure! It’s not without hope, I’ve found palms which comes from habitat with a distinct dry season tend to have some general hardiness to temperature fluctuation. I’ve got a couple of Livistona alfredii here doing ok albeit very slow. There’s a collector here who has an old Livistona which is supposedly victoriae but I couldn’t say for sure. Either way, some of the Livistonas from relatively hot climates seem to cope.

[Jonathan]

23 hours ago, happypalms said:

I have heard about Tasmanians and experimentation with all sorts of different things 🤣

Slander! But probably true.

[happypalms]

12 minutes ago, Jonathan said:

Slander! But probably true.

That’s what I told em.

[tropicbreeze]

Thought it best to post this photo here as it shows another of the extremes of habitat that Livistona humilis can occupy. This is out in the middle of a floodplain which during the wet season is covered with water, but in the dry season it dries out to a hard, cracking, black clay. Within a radius of about a kilometre there's no higher ground that doesn't get flooded for extended periods. It's about 2.5 metres tall and has lots of old inflorescences. But it's a single plant with no others near it. I did, however, find another about half a kilometre away in a similar situation, and also a single plant.

Just surviving in that sort of an environment seems like a miracle, but there must have been many thousands of seeds washed down from the woodlands over time that didn't survive. In one or two hundred thousand years maybe we'll have a new wetland palm species.