Mauritia flexuosa

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

I recently made a new friend and he ivited me out to his farm for a tour yesterday. He told me about a palm that he grew from seed (a friend brought him the seed from Peru 12 years ago) and he needed help to id it. One look and I knew it was Mauritia. IMO one of the most beautiful palms in the world.

My friend Sy standing in front

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

[osideterry]

12 years! That's thing is a beauty.

[amazondk]

Nice Jeff. Has it produced fruit yet?

dk

[ariscott]

Wow.... I can't wait till mine get that big!!!

Regards, Ari

[Dypsisdean]

Nice Jeff. Has it produced fruit yet?

dk

Don,

Still one of my favorite all time pics is the one you posted of these guys in the "purple water" from a few years ago now.

[JD in the OC]

Magnificent Coryphaesque grandeur!

[Lowey]

Nice pics Jeff, are there many ariel roots comming out of the ground around the base where you were standing??

[aussiearoids]

Hey Bruce , they would not be ariel roots coming out of the ground I think you mean pneumatophores like Mangroves have ,, my Raphia australis has them and I noticed the same around a big one @Whyanbeel , I bet the R vinifera had them also but they would have been mowed to death

Edited January 2, 2011 by aussiearoids

[Kris]

Beautiful stills of a beautiful palm...

Thanks & Love,

kris.

[Lowey]

Hey Bruce , they would not be ariel roots coming out of the ground I think you mean pneumatophores like Mangroves have ,, my Raphia australis has them and I noticed the same around a big one @Whyanbeel , I bet the R vinifera had them also but they would have been mowed to death

Your right Michael pneumatophores was what I meant just coundnt think of the correct terminology some mature Mauritia's Ive seen have vast amounts of them that is why I asked.

[amazondk]

Nice Jeff. Has it produced fruit yet?

dk

Don,

Still one of my favorite all time pics is the one you posted of these guys in the "purple water" from a few years ago now.

Dean,

Since you brought it up I looked up the picture. It took a while to find though. This is one of my favorite Mauritia pictures as well. I have been by this spot lots of times since I took the picture and have never seen the mix of the purple water and palms again. The picture was taken on Jan. 17, 2006. So, it was about this time of year. Maybe I should drive back out there and see if the same thing is happening. It is about 25 kms from Manaus along the highway north.

Here is the picture. I am sure Jeff will like it.

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Don, I'm not sure if it has produced fruit. I didn't see any seedlings around the bottom. It is flowering now though...

Thanks for posting that pic again. It's a great photo!

[Takil-Explorer]

Mauritsia flexuosa, morichal you see a lot in La Gran Sabana of Venezuela, and with the tepuis at the background its an unforgetable awesome side! I have been there 10 years ago!

Alexander

[Al in Kona]

Jeff, I'm curious as to what kind of conditions your friend grows this Mauritia flexuosa. Does it at anytime sit in standing water (like during the rainy season)? Does it get watered during the dry season? I know it likes water but can it tolerate any drought for short periods?

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Hey Bruce , they would not be ariel roots coming out of the ground I think you mean pneumatophores like Mangroves have ,, my Raphia australis has them and I noticed the same around a big one @Whyanbeel , I bet the R vinifera had them also but they would have been mowed to death

Your right Michael pneumatophores was what I meant just coundnt think of the correct terminology some mature Mauritia's Ive seen have vast amounts of them that is why I asked.

Hi Bruce and Michael, I didn't notice any pneumatophores (thanks for the education, I never heard that term before). The base of the palm was covered in vegetation and vines so it was hard to see. I already saw one snake that day as I was walking over to the Mauritia so I didn't want to step into an overgrown area and stir up any more....

[amazondk]

I am fortunate to have a natural Mauritia grove next to my country place. I am sure a lot of you have seen a few pictures I have posted. The area probably has around a thousand trees just on my lot front. It is in a stream bed that is seasonally flooded and is about 100 meters wide. Here are some pictures I took last August which is the begining of the dry water season and the area was not flooded. The first picture clearly shows the roots form the Mauritias coming up to the surface. There are very old Mauritias in this grove for sure. I love it when Mauritia threads come up. This is the king of the Amazonian palms.

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Don, That would be amazing to stand in a grove of those monsters!

Thanks for the photos.

[Donald Sanders]

I was so impressed with the Mauitia palms that I saw with Don out side of Manaus and along the Amazon with Henderson that I am now growing 2 that I got from Jeff Marcus and I am impressed how fast they grow. Impossible to over water them, many times they grow in standing water. I don't think it can be too hot for them either, especially if they have water. A beautiful palm.

[amazondk]

Donald,

That is great that you have a piece of Amazonia growing there. I am sure they do well.

dk

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Nice Jeff. Has it produced fruit yet?

dk

Hi Don,

I just received an email from my friend and he said that the palm has flowered for the past 4 years but has never set fruit. He asked me why, so I did a little more research and I read that Mauritia are dioecious. I responded and told him he needed a male and female to get fruit.

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Jeff, I'm curious as to what kind of conditions your friend grows this Mauritia flexuosa. Does it at anytime sit in standing water (like during the rainy season)? Does it get watered during the dry season? I know it likes water but can it tolerate any drought for short periods?

Hi Al,

The ground was wet and a little soggy around where it is planted. He lives in the foothills of the Coastal Mountains along the Naranjo River and they do not really experience that much of a dry season there. It's common for rain to fall in those areas pretty regularly, even during the dry season. I doubt if this palm ever experiences periods of drought.

[Eric in Orlando]

Gorgeous palms !!!

I have 2 to plant out in spring in a swamy area here. I have one planted already but small, about 3ft. It survived last winter while a Mauritiella armata next to it died.

[amazondk]

Eric,

It will be intersting to see if they survive there. I do not think any of the areas where they grow here ever reach anything near freezing.

dk

[Eric in Orlando]

It is in a real protected spot. I had another elsewhere in the garden and it died. The 2 I have in the greenhouse will get planted in the protected spot.

I saw some nice ones growing near West Palm Beach.

[Eric in Orlando]

It is in a real protected spot. I had another elsewhere in the garden and it died. The 2 I have in the greenhouse will get planted in the protected spot.

I saw some nice ones growing near West Palm Beach.

[Missi]

On 1/12/2011, 8:38:03, Eric in Orlando said:

It is in a real protected spot. I had another elsewhere in the garden and it died. The 2 I have in the greenhouse will get planted in the protected spot.

 

I saw some nice ones growing near West Palm Beach.

Update on yours, please

[Eric in Orlando]

It is still alive. It was buried under some tree debris after Hurricane Irma and just some burn from the freeze. Hopefully it will really grow this year.

[Kokioula]

This plant is a male, dried inflorescence is visible. Dioecious. In wet north Kaua'i some are growing on dry land but have constant access to nearby stream

[Kailua_Krish]

There is a fruit tree nursery on Oahu selling them and I got 3. So far they've been doing well in a wetter upper valley that has subterranean water. Hopefully mine even get half the size of stream-bank ones!

[Kokioula]

Aloha, I bet they will, as I have observed. They grow rapidly to reach the canopy

[CB Lisa]

Amazingly cool palm! Have a small one in ground that survived fairly direct onshore Hurricane Irma winds and then 33 degrees. Know it’s not freezing but pretty darn close, and while it looks pretty beat up after all that, it’s still chugging away, pushing a new spear! 

Thank you, @Eric in Orlando for the update on the one over there. Gives me hope that I may one day see this little guy become a big guy! 

[John in Andalucia]

Mauritia flexuosa will always remind me of my time in Peru seven years ago. I remember picking up Aguaje fruit in Arequipa, thinking how great it was to be able to buy fresh palm seeds at the supermarket. It's just a shame that all the amazing photos posted on Photobucket by Don are lost, especially the 'purple water' shot. There's nothing to compare with it on Google!

As locations go for this palm (although not one I've had the pleasure to visit) here's a video I found online back in 2011. I'm pretty sure it features M. flexuosa (seen at left, from around 16 sec. mark). Fun to watch at any rate, with full screen/high def. a must!: https://www.youtube.com/embed/8x-3r5fjIr4?

[PALM MOD]

59 minutes ago, John in Andalucia said:

It's just a shame that all the amazing photos posted on Photobucket by Don are lost, especially the 'purple water' shot. There's nothing to compare with it on Google!

Here's one of them - from Palmpedia.net