Can this palm survive long term?? Diagnosis (and ID) needed!

[politoCABJ]

Hi everyone!

This palm snapped like a twig during Hurricane Irma last year, but ever since then it has been slowly recovering and showings signs of normal health. It's quite remarkable considering the damage! It used to support itself on an oak tree branch, but now it is holding itself up firmly and producing new fronds and batches of fruit. My wife thinks we should give it the CHOP, but as a palm lover I have a soft spot for this guy after all it's been through. 

Do you think it can survive for the long term? 

PS. I'd also appreciate confirmation on the ID. I am in zone 10b and I believe it is a Carpentaria acuminata. 

A

[Jeff Searle]

Wow, it's amazing it's still breathing! It's days are numbered.

Jeff

[Moose]

Looks like it could be a Ptychosperma elegans. Replace it with a nice understory palm.

Just my opinion.

[PalmatierMeg]

End its misery. Ptycho elegans are dime a dozen in your area and may be a FL Class II invasive (someone, please confirm or deny).

[politoCABJ]

Thanks guys! I suppose ill have to give it the ole chainsaw treatment. Yes Meg, these things are all over the place!  There are really tall ones that have passed the height of the oak tree canopies and keep growing away. 

[greysrigging]

No its not a Carpy....and if it was they are very chainsaw worthy ( being native to my home town of Darwin they are pretty well loathed ....extremely messy dropping seeds and fronds.....and attracting fruit bats which then drop toxic poop on car duco which if not removed immediately results in stripped paint ! )

Looks like a Ptychosperma of some sort.

[Tyrone]

I love carpies. I wish I lived in a place where a Carpy is considered a weed. I've got 6 acres and if they grew here I'd love a carpy forest. Instead we call normal crappy plants like kikuyu grass a weed.

Btw that is a Ptychosperma elegans. If you feel sorry for it collect some ripe seed from it, chuck them in a pot then cut it down. At least its progeny will keep its legacy going.

[politoCABJ]

Thanks for the ID! I am now noticing Ptychosperma elegans all over my neighborhood. They are almost as ubiquitous as Adonidia merrillii. In some cases they were planted a long time ago by previous owners. Look how cozy these guys are alongside oak trees.

I was surprised to see a landscaper plant a few of them next to a driveway last year right before Irma (second picture). Unsurprisingly, one of them went down during the storm. The location of these palms seems quite ill-advised, but it was done in a rush while the house was being flipped so I doubt anyone gave it much thought.