Burretiokentia Mystery

[palmtreesforpleasure]

Hello All,

For some time i keep re reading the palms of New Caledonia book to identify this palm

As the next persons growing a lot  New Caledonian palms is about 800 ks away, ( there are few collectors that have a few species in Sydney) it is hard to visit them to compare collections.

So over the years the Queenslanders and overseas visitors look at this palm, many a different answers. Now that it has flowered it should be easier to identify.

The maroon tomentum is like velvet, everyone gives it a rub which removes it.

It is very attractive palm however it does not like full sun as it emerges through the  canopy.

Will get a ladder and take pictures of the leaves next. 

Sorry about the quality of the photo, palmtalk only lets me load KB size files for some reason

regards

Colin

 

[richnorm]

Here we would call that Burretiokentia hapala.  I think the inflorescence is the key but don't have personal experience of the others.

[BS Man about Palms]

Yeah, with that inflorescence I would think hapala too. It's that maroon tomentum that throws me... maybe a hybrid?  Looks great though Colin!! 

[richnorm]

They show that tomentum like that here too. Will grab a photo later. I think those dreadlocks make the ID definitive.

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Burretiokentia wilsoniana  Colin !

[comic097]

What a ripper !!!! Love the colour 

[Tracy S]

Gorgeous.Love that color. Thanks for sharing.

[palmtreesforpleasure]

Hello All

I thought i would wait a while before replying.

This palm is different to a normal  Burretiokentia Hapala. 

My Hapala's have never seeded, this palm must be from a higher altitude as it is in cool part of the garden, i have 2 hapala's in hot and cool area's that never seed.

The trunk is smaller on the Mystery palm. Pictures attached

another pictures is leaf sheaf of the mystery palm beside a Hapala.

Any thoughts?????

regards

colin

 

[Tracy S]

It's gorgeous. 

[Tracy]

On 1/8/2018, 3:39:13, palmtreesforpleasure said:

 

So if I read your post correctly and compare photos, your "unknown" Burretiokentia leaf sheath is pictured on the right, while the leaf sheath on the left is from one of your Burretiokentia hapala?

 

On 12/6/2017, 3:03:42, palmtreesforpleasure said:

 

I do have to say that the inflorescence you show sure looks like what I have seen with my Burretiokentia hapala.  Mine are still too young to have produced viable seed yet, so I can't compare the inflorescence with seed to mine. 

[Tracy]

I've seen some variation in the leaf sheath color on Burretiokentia hapala, but you can see a good deal of reddish-brown on the trunk of this one which is growing in pretty heavy shade (north side of house) the Rhopalostylis towering over it to the west, the Woodyetia to it's immediate east, and where I stood to shoot the photo was under a pair of Howea's with clean trunk overhead at that time.  Now compare that to the photo of a different one with more sunlight a few miles away (trunk only shot).  Pretty different color.

[palmtreesforpleasure]

On 1/13/2018, 1:02:03, Tracy said:

So if I read your post correctly and compare photos, your "unknown" Burretiokentia leaf sheath is pictured on the right, while the leaf sheath on the left is from one of your Burretiokentia hapala?

 

I do have to say that the inflorescence you show sure looks like what I have seen with my Burretiokentia hapala.  Mine are still too young to have produced viable seed yet, so I can't compare the inflorescence with seed to mine. 

Yes, that is correct. The Hapala on the left and the unknown Burretiokentia on the right

regards

Colin

[realarch]

Aloha Colin!

In that lost photo, the little one on the right looks like a Cyphophoenix alba.

Tim

[Mandrew968]

It's a nice hapala. Think of how variable Chambeyronia is, if anyone is not sure-the ramenta on the crownshaft is very similar to Cyphophoenix alba, but the inflorescence holds much more taxonomic weight. 

[richnorm]

Couple of photos of my hapala for you Colin.  Trunk is not self-cleaning yet but size and fuzz much like yours.  Mine has not flowered but identical plants here produce the classic hapala dreadlocks.

[palmtreesforpleasure]

On 19/01/2018, 09:47:50, richnorm said:

Couple of photos of my hapala for you Colin.  Trunk is not self-cleaning yet but size and fuzz much like yours.  Mine has not flowered but identical plants here produce the classic hapala dreadlocks.

Thank you for your pictures

They look the same as mine...

My thoughts are therefore that this form is a higher altitude form as it producing seed and the regular form does not so far.

Both forms are roughly the same age.

It is an attractive palm

Regards

Colin

 

[Palms4Steve]

It’s a beautiful palm Colin. Save me a seedling when you grow them.

[palmtreesforpleasure]

Hello all

A little update on this palm

Seed pictures

Regards

Colin

[Moose]

On 12/7/2017 at 12:00 PM, BS Man about Palms said:

Yeah, with that inflorescence I would think hapala too. It's that maroon tomentum that throws me... maybe a hybrid?  Looks great though Colin!! 

Did your Burretiokentia survive?

[palmtreesforpleasure]

Hello Moose, 

it did indeed survive, 

When you read Palms of new Caledonia it mentions red tomentum on the crownshaft but green stems.

As you can see in the above pictures this form of Hapala? has red/brown tomentum all over.

It has been 3 years since this original post.

This year it seeded again, so i am including pictures of the Inflorescence of The red/brown tomentum form and the green , grey crownshaft form of Hapala

The inflorescence of the red /brown form just hang down when seeding, the other form had the claw form of inflorescence.

The only trouble i have with teh red/tomentum form is every visitor rubs teh stem to feel the velvet like tomentum and over the years the have rubbed  a lot of it off.

Maybe one day those 2 types will be separated officially into different forms

regards

Colin

 

 

[palmtreesforpleasure]

This year i have noticed they are flowering months apart,

something is going on, still a mystery

regards

colin