Phoenix andamanensis

[basilios]

They send me as a gift a very small Phoenix Andamanensis seedling(just one tiny leaf, probably a couple of months old) and since I completely ignored the existence of this species till now (and I couldn't find much info on the net), is there anyone who knows anything about its growing habits (cold tolerance, watering, special care etc)? Thanks!

[gyuseppe]

is very similar to phoenix rupicola

[DoomsDave]

Wow!

Sounds rare, and probably a bit on the tender side.

Here's the Wikipedia entry:

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Phoenix andamanensis (andamanensis, Latin, of Andaman) is flowering plant in the palm family, in the Phoenix genus, from the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal below Myanmar. It is an endemic species of the Andaman Islands. It is a rare species even in the Andaman island and is considered threatened.

Contents

[hide] 1 Overview

2 References

3 External links

4 References

[edit] Overview

It is a solitary palm tree with a trunk that easily reaches 3,5 meters high and 20 cm in diameter, sheets of 2.5 meters and about 4 cm acanthophylls long, aligned in one plane. The leaflets also inserted in a plane are concolor (same color on both sides) and with discontinuous white ramentos (stiff spines), in the abaxial face along the rachis. The date fruit is oblong and elongated, the seed is having a ruminate endosperm.[1] Found in altitudes from 400 to 675 m, these palms grow in scrubland, usually in sloping terrain.

First described in 1999 by Sasha Barrow, the plants resemble P. rupicola and is apparently closely related to Phoenix rupicola being distinguished mostly in the seed morphology. Andaman palm is adapted to tropical humid climate from the archipelago of Andaman islands, an archipelago located in the Bay of Bengal and belonging to India. The Indian subcontinent is very rich in vegetal species of palm trees of the genus Phoenix.

[basilios]

Interesting. Thanks Dave.

[Kris]

Does any one have,any visuals of this palm ?

[LivistonaFan]

My Phoenix andamensis has survived at least -2°C / 28.4°F as well as a long cool Mediterranean winter. While this is surprising given its tropical habitat, it is not actually remarkable considering its close relative (P. rupicola?). This palm is definitely visually more fragile than a P. canariensis / P. dactylifera/ P. sylvestris of the same size.

 

Do any of you have this palm in cultivation and want to show a photo?