trachycarpus fortunei Flowers

[NCPalm]

Forgive me if I do not use the correct terminology in my descriptions that follow. I am willing to learn and if someone can give me the correct terms for the male and female trachycarpus fortunei flowers I would appreciate it. i have two trachycarpus fortunei. One has 3.5 feet of trunk and is flowering for the second year. Last year it put out one flowering pod. This year it is putting out five flowering pods. I have another trachycarpus fortunei with 5.5 feet of trunk that has never put out any flowering pods. I suspect the smaller palm is a female and the larger is a male. Does anyone know when the larger (male?) tree may produce flowering male pods?

[quaman58]

George,

I also have two. The smaller is definitely male, about 4 feet of trunk, & is flowering for the third year. The larger has about 8 feet of trunk & has yet to flower. They're both about the same age. So I was thinking the opposite; that perhaps the females take longer to mature. Or it could be just an individual thing.. Who knows?!

[Kostas]

Trachycarpus fortunei are polygamo-monoecious,which means,flowers of both sexes can be found on the same tree. So there aren't separate male and female specimen. From my experience with mine,they can appear at first as male plants,setting no seed even with other Trachycarpus fortunei around but then next year set seeds. If you search the literature,you will see them mentioned as dioecious in some papers and as polygamo-monoecious in the more recent ones so they do behave in a strange enough manner that made scientists believe them be dioecious at first

I dont know why this difference in flowering height but it could be cultural(i.e. more shade makes plants flower at a greater height) or there could be a wide window of individual variability in this matter.Btw,both of my 7-8ft Trachycarpus are flowering annually and last year they set seed as well(they are the only Trachycarpus in the general area)! They have spent inflorescences down to about 3-4ft of trunk if i remember correctly.

[pindo]

Please read the following text:

The flowers are yellow (male) and greenish (female), about 2-4 mm across, borne in large branched panicles up to 1 m long in spring; it is dioecious, with male and female flowers produced on separate trees. The fruit is a yellow to blue-black, reniform (kidney-shaped) drupe 10–12 mm long, ripening in mid autumn. Occasionally it occurs that a male plant of T. fortunei besides the usual spadices produces also a few other spadices which carry really hermaphroditic flowers. The hermaphroditic and completely fertile flowers are almost exactly like the male flowers, but are a little larger and with the carpels well evolute, the latter about as long as the filaments, furnished with a ring of silvery hairs all round.

T fortunei male flowers

T. fortunei female flowers

Cheers

[NCPalm]

Thank you all for the great information. About two weeks after the smaller tree flowered the second taller palm flowered and I am sure from the pictures/descriptions I have read that they are both male. I also have two smaller palms with about 1.5 feet of trunk. No flowers, but hope one of them is a female.

[NCPalm]

BTW, the smaller tree receives more hours of direct sunlight than the taller bolstering Kostas' input.

[Vic]

Kostas, just some clarification trachycarpus fortunei are not generally polygamo-monoecious palms, there are instances where this happens but it is certainly not the norm. If any of you are members of the european palm society here is a thread on the subject worth looking at. http://www.palmsociety.org.uk/forum/topic.asp?boardid=1&show=31&page=1&topicid=4235.

Pindo, the picture you posted of t.fortunei flowers in your 3rd picture are actually c.humilis not t.fortunei, the armed petioles are the main giveaway.