Please ID this PALM

[bubba]

This one is difficult. I do not know whether it is the fact that the palm fronds have been overly cut. I do note that it does not have a crown shaft and looks quite old:

[Mandrew968]

Looks like an Aiphanes...

[bubba]

Andrew,

 Based upon your comments and additional research, I believe that this specimen is  a very old and highly trimmed Aiphanes minima. In Palmpedia, I noted several older specimens that appeared to have lost their spiny trunks. The palm fronds may be tightly trimmed because of the potential spines. Also referred to as the Macaw Palm, Palmbob makes a great observation relating to the spines ( Why would you want such a spiny palm indoors!) in Dave's Garden commentary. It is found in the rain forests of most islands in the West Indies, Barbados, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Dominica, Martinique and St. Vincent.

This particular specimen is very old and highly tended. I have no idea how it landed in PB. I appreciate your astute guidance.

 

 

[Mandrew968]

1 hour ago, bubba said:

Andrew,

 Based upon your comments and additional research, I believe that this specimen is  a very old and highly trimmed Aiphanes minima. In Palmpedia, I noted several older specimens that appeared to have lost their spiny trunks. The palm fronds may be tightly trimmed because of the potential spines. Also referred to as the Macaw Palm, Palmbob makes a great observation relating to the spines ( Why would you want such a spiny palm indoors!) in Dave's Garden commentary. It is found in the rain forests of most islands in the West Indies, Barbados, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Dominica, Martinique and St. Vincent.

This particular specimen is very old and highly tended. I have no idea how it landed in PB. I appreciate your astute guidance.

 

 

It's also not very healthy--that crown should be much larger and not nearly as tight. Foliar feeding with granular application would do wonders to the look of that palm. I know your palms wouldn't look like that, but just throwing it out there, that this is not what that palm should look like.

[PalmWarbler]

close up and tweaked:

[bubba]

I appreciate your comments and this is not my palm. I noticed it on a random drive-by and could not ID it. PB has very tropical foliage and palms but in most cases highly redundant. In other words, with some notable exceptions, not much in the way of "Fairchild Gardens" slick varieties. For example, it would be great to see Copernicia fallaensis planted one for every two Royals here but that is not the case.

The other aspect that you should understand about gardens and tropical palms in PB is the tendency towards extreme pollarding. Because this palm is spiny, I have no doubt that the barber is under strict orders to cut it extremely tight. Ergo, while I do not disagree with your assessment, I feel somewhat lucky to have identified an out of the box specimen for this area. Sometimes you just have to take what you get and be happy.

Edited June 15, 2017 by bubba
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