The 4 Beccariophoenix species/variants - post pictures of yours

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

These are fun to grow. First picture is Alfredii, 4 years in the groundm all the alfredii I grow have tingles of purple on the petioles. Tree in the background is a Kukui nut (Aleurites moluccanus), a Hawaiian canoe plant that was used for making lamp oil.

 

Second picture below is fenestralis, this one is growing under an Inga edulis tree that seems to be fertilizing this tree, only two and a half years in the ground.

Third picture below is classic madagascariensis, 6 years in the ground.

Below is the 4th one, a variant of madagascariensis which I think some have labeled as a different species, also 6 years in the ground. The fronds are not as fine as the regular madagascariensis and they tip dramatically at the ends. Looks different from literally every single madagascariensis I grow. I am sure the botanists will lump this one into madagascariensis.

[kinzyjr]

My Beccariophoenix fenestralis during a cool winter:

[Tyrone]

16 hours ago, Mauna Kea Cloudforest said:

These are fun to grow. First picture is Alfredii, 4 years in the groundm all the alfredii I grow have tingles of purple on the petioles. Tree in the background is a Kukui nut (Aleurites moluccanus), a Hawaiian canoe plant that was used for making lamp oil.

 

Second picture below is fenestralis, this one is growing under an Inga edulis tree that seems to be fertilizing this tree, only two and a half years in the ground.

Third picture below is classic madagascariensis, 6 years in the ground.

Below is the 4th one, a variant of madagascariensis which I think some have labeled as a different species, also 6 years in the ground. The fronds are not as fine as the regular madagascariensis and they tip dramatically at the ends. Looks different from literally every single madagascariensis I grow. I am sure the botanists will lump this one into madagascariensis.

The 4th one. Was that called Beccariophoenix sp pointy seed? 

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

 

5 hours ago, Tyrone said:

The 4th one. Was that called Beccariophoenix sp pointy seed? 

Yes, that's the one. I wish I knew for sure that this is an actual pointy seed specimen, that is my hope but I'll accept it if people say it's just a regular B. madagascariensis. This particular specimen seems to be a droopier form of B. madagascariensis, it looked very different from B. madagascariensis when it was younger, no shuttlecock look at all and greener, but the older it gets the more it looks like madagascariensis. The fourth form grows in a transitional habitat between the humid lowland forests of B. madagascariensis and the dry, highland savanna areas where B. alfredii thrives. The exact location is not widely disclosed to protect the population (I have no idea where these are), but it is speculated to be in a remote region of Madagascar, where ecological conditions are distinct from the habitats of the three recognized species. RPS offered the pointy seed version at one point but that seems like it was a long time ago. I don't know anyone who grows it to compare but it's worth investigating here in Hawaii, someone must have seeding versions by now.

[Josue Diaz]

This is alfredii, 7 years in the ground from a 15g pot 

[quaman58]

Interesting look on the last one with droopy tips. I vaguely recall the pointy seed offer. I don’t remember whether they said it came from a different area or not than the standard madagascariensis. Great looking palms,all!

[96720]

This is my alfredii 

[BayAndroid]

Here's my B. Alfredii.

2 years in the ground from a 15 gallon. 

 

[Merlyn]

Here's one of my 5 big Alfredii, about 6.5 years from planting as a ~5' tall 3 gallon:

[RainforestCafe]

1 hour ago, Merlyn said:

Here's one of my 5 big Alfredii, about 6.5 years from planting as a ~5' tall 3 gallon:

Wow, that thing is a monster!

How much space does it take up? Those look like 20 foot fronds.

[Merlyn]

7 minutes ago, RainforestCafe said:

Wow, that thing is a monster!

How much space does it take up? Those look like 20 foot fronds.

Yep, pretty much 20-25 foot fronds if left to grow out full horizontal.  I cut all the lower horizontal fronds off just before Hurricane Milton, just in case.  None of the 5 big ones tilted with ~80-90mph winds this time, so maybe once they finally hit trunking size they grew enough roots to stabilize...I hope!

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

13 hours ago, quaman58 said:

Interesting look on the last one with droopy tips. I vaguely recall the pointy seed offer. I don’t remember whether they said it came from a different area or not than the standard madagascariensis. Great looking palms,all!

Yeah see reply I posted earlier, the pointy seed come from an area that is a transition between humid lowlands and upland savannah, so supposedly an adaptation of southern seed to cooler drier areas. 

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

6 hours ago, Merlyn said:

Here's one of my 5 big Alfredii, about 6.5 years from planting as a ~5' tall 3 gallon:

These are going to be way faster for you in the Florida heat, here it's cool, mostly 72-78F so much slower.

[Merlyn]

9 hours ago, Mauna Kea Cloudforest said:

These are going to be way faster for you in the Florida heat, here it's cool, mostly 72-78F so much slower.

Yeah, they grow big pretty quick here!  This one is my only Fenestralis, planted from a big 3g in April 2023.  It's done well so far with a couple of upper 30s frosts, but hasn't really been tested...yet...  It's more lime green in full sun here, where Alfredii is always deep green in sun or shade.  I planted it too close to the walkway on the right, but that just means I'll have to aggressively prune it back for clearance.

[Meangreen94z]

Here is an alfredii in Pearland, Texas. Two years from a 1 gallon. It survived high teens(F) a year ago, just a mound of mulch and a box thrown over top. Shockingly the fronds did not have much beyond tip burn and it took off this year as a result.

 

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

3 hours ago, Merlyn said:

Yeah, they grow big pretty quick here!  This one is my only Fenestralis, planted from a big 3g in April 2023.  It's done well so far with a couple of upper 30s frosts, but hasn't really been tested...yet...  It's more lime green in full sun here, where Alfredii is always deep green in sun or shade.  I planted it too close to the walkway on the right, but that just means I'll have to aggressively prune it back for clearance.

They start out light green but once their root network is established and they tap into the mycorrhizal network and the rest of the soil flora is well established around their roots, they take off with deep green. 

[Tyrone]

On 1/5/2025 at 2:36 PM, Mauna Kea Cloudforest said:

 

Yes, that's the one. I wish I knew for sure that this is an actual pointy seed specimen, that is my hope but I'll accept it if people say it's just a regular B. madagascariensis. This particular specimen seems to be a droopier form of B. madagascariensis, it looked very different from B. madagascariensis when it was younger, no shuttlecock look at all and greener, but the older it gets the more it looks like madagascariensis. The fourth form grows in a transitional habitat between the humid lowland forests of B. madagascariensis and the dry, highland savanna areas where B. alfredii thrives. The exact location is not widely disclosed to protect the population (I have no idea where these are), but it is speculated to be in a remote region of Madagascar, where ecological conditions are distinct from the habitats of the three recognized species. RPS offered the pointy seed version at one point but that seems like it was a long time ago. I don't know anyone who grows it to compare but it's worth investigating here in Hawaii, someone must have seeding versions by now.

I have two small plants of B sp pointy seed from back in the day. Here due to the cool they are slow growing, whereas alfredii in comparison is a rocket. In the last year I repotted them into much more free draining mix so hopefully they will speed up a bit. At the moment they still look closely like B mad but I will keep an eye out for the droopy leaflet thing. Tough little slow growing palms for me. 

[meridannight]

I have Beccariophoenix madagascariensis seedlings that I germinated this summer. They're not photogenic yet, but are looking good already as small nubblings (yes, I made up a word), so I'm hoping to post some pictures come summer. 

This summer I had an option to get either B. alfredii or B. madagascariensis seeds, and I am so glad I got the latter. B. alfredii is a beautiful palm, but also quite common. Not that that makes a palm less attractive or anything. B. madagascariensis came up very fast and at an excellent rate (north of 80%) and I have a whole bag of them I still need to plant into their own pots. 

[RiverCityRichard]

My two Beccariophoenix Alfredii’s. Both had to be stood back up after Hurricane Milton, but have done just fine since. Bottom one planted from a 5’ tall 15g in spring 2022. Top one planted from a bigger 15g last spring.

[Brad52]

My sole entry, obtained as Madagascariensis around 3 years ago.

[Shoowow]

Here's my Alfredii in S. Miguel, Azores, six years in the ground. Wish I had a few more.

[FlaPalmLover]

@sonoranfans has a big, nice one.