Anyone seen Pritchardia arecina in habitat?

[quaman58]

Hey all,

Colin's great habitat pictures of P. kahukuensis got me to wondering if anyone's seen P. arecina in habitat. I'm a bit of a Pritchardia kook, & am going to Maui in a week or so. I've never been to the Hana side before & wasn't sure how off the beaten track they are, or if you're even allowed into their area without permission. I've heard that the locals in that area are somewhat of a mixed bag regarding their feelings toward tourists, so I don't want to intrude into areas where I shouldn't.  These are such great palms; I'm fortunate to have a young one in my garden & it's one of the more distinctive ones. Any information is very much appreciated!

 

Bret

[Tracy]

4 hours ago, quaman58 said:

I'm fortunate to have a young one in my garden & it's one of the more distinctive ones.

Bret, you need to add a photo of yours to show those of us unfamiliar with this Pritchardia why you find it to be one of the more distinctive.  Is your young plant demonstrating many of the traits which attracted you to growing this particular one?  Hope you get an answer to your question and are able to later share some in habitat photos!

[quaman58]

Tracy,

I'll try to get to that this afternoon when I get home. It's been in the ground about 10 months now, & was a decent size 15 gallon size. It had a harder time acclimating than I was expecting, but is coming out of it. Two distinctive traits that show up on this, and in nearly every picture I see on these is a very flat leaf, & a beautiful gold color on the leaf bottom. For whatever reason, I never see them for sale.

Bret

[colin Peters]

Bret,

I have only seen one and it is at Lyon arboretum, close to the visitor center, it is very mature and is seeding. It has a golden color to the undersides of the leaves and is  pretty cool. The infructesece is very long and the seed is large. I too would like to see it in habitat one day. Hopefully someone has the answer to your question. Never seen one for sale or in landscape here. 

aloha

[quaman58]

Colin, thanks for your input; I'll keep trying. Here are some pictures I just snapped. As mentioned, it took more sun damage than I would have expected. 

[quaman58]

Comparing the more normal wedge shaped leaves of P. Hillibrandii & P. Forbesiana..

[quaman58]

Thanks for looking..

[Sabal Steve]

Bret, all of your Pritchardias look fantastic!

[quaman58]

Thanks for that Steve. I'll let you know when your napaliensis seeds crack..