Leaderboard

My second Chrysalidocarpus (Dypsis) decipiens is going to flower. This one has the crownshaft and inflorescence more colorful than the others that are more greenish.

There will be more “palm portraits” with Latin names, but too busy today. Many head home this morning but I am lucky enough to head to Cajamarca with a small group. Yesterday orchids in bloom and dormant were numerous along the road so we happily took a break from the long bus rides. There were many plants which we were happy to even get to the family level of identification. I was told this strikingly yellow plant was some form of mistlestoe. And all ages of Dictyocaryum surrounded us. This baby was low enough that I could reverse the leaf to show off the silver underside. Look at that crownshaft color. Note stilt roots on the left. So many Dictyocaryum palms!!

Been awhile since a thread for this genus of rather elegant palms from western Pacific islands. Feel free to post any images and observations you’ve experienced. I’ve got three species and five individuals growing in the garden. C. samoense is by far the more robust and for this reason, planted in the open space behind the property. Digging a hole wasn’t possible because of the shallow soil over almost solid rock, so the potted specimens were just placed on the on the surface after removing the bottom of the plastic pot. Super aggressive roots enabled them to anchor and penetrate fractures in the rock. Here are a few C. samoense photos. Tim

D. Decipiens 20 years old H. Indica - New planting this year. Purchased from Stacey Wright. C. Nucele - Floribunda Palm. Probably 10 years old now Bizmarkia always growing.

Chrysalidocarpus Prestonianus dropped a leaf to reveal some color

This one has been in the ground for ten years out of a one gallon container. Neither Wodyetia nor Veitchia will grow well at all here but their hybrid does shockingly well. I wish a had a few more of them. Anyone growing one or more in a cooler climate?

Another flower spathe on one of my Areca Vestiarias. 😍

And last, but not least is the C. savoryanum, just a spectacular smaller Clino. Lots of photos on PT of this palm. Tim

Here’s another C. samoense with a shovel at the base to give an idea of the size. Tim

the transitional leaf stage of this Loxococcus rupicola

Coccothrinax Clinostigma gronophyllum

@Hilo Jason and i have had an annual tradition three years running to visit a palm that makes my eyes water, a specimen of Tahina spectabilis in Hawaii that has thrived in its planted location 2023: 2024: 2025: seems to have fully grown out of those rough leaf pushes Jason has some great photos of years prior to this that they might post, thankful for the opportunity, the owner for letting us nerd out in their yard, and @bgl for the plant origin

had the opportunity to visit @Hilo Jason and their garden of wonders today, no surprise they synchronized with a slice of heaven on earth

Bill Baker (Kew) descending the Bosque de palmeras Ocol. This is where we saw hundreds of ceroxylons. Norm from Hawaii having a grand time hiking in the forest. Notice the boots on each of them. It was muddy and slippery. I learned the value of using a walking stick.

Here’s one that goes by the name, ‘Hawaiian Hybrid.’ Can only speculate what the cross is, but it seems a bit smaller in stature than C. samoense, but almost as tall. You can see differences in the crown as well. Tim

Caught this Chrysalidocarpus hovomantsina in the process of dropping a leaf sheath. Beefy palm, nice color too. Tim

Here is an updated pic of the Clinostigma savoryanum at the San Diego Zoo. This pic was taken on September 2, 2025. I believe this palm is more than 25 ft, maybe closer to 30 ft tall.

My rarest palm tree would prob be a tie between my Cyrtostachys renda Variegated and Chrysalidocarpus 'Votovavy Blue'

double b, Bentinckia and Balaka

A couple palm friends in the PSSC went to Tahiti and took some awesome pictures. Including these! I’m hoarse from yelling obscenities.

The trunk....

Borassodendron machadonis

I was out back looking at frogs with my daughter and I turned around and super silver flashed me. The flashlight really shows off why it’s called super silver.

While I don’t really have anything super “rare”, I do have a bunch of coveted palms listed below I think many might like to have in the garden. One palm that is probably my favorite and most unique was purchased as Dypsis Heteromorpha but it surely seems like a hybrid of some type. I’ve posted this palm many times so people are probably tired of seeing it but it never gets old to me and is continuing to grow at a rapid rate. Planted out as a small 5G stick in Feb 2021 if you can believe it. Crazy….. -Dypsis Mananjarensis (Mealy Bug) -Dypsis Dark Mealy -Dypsis Black Stem -Dypsis Ampasindavae -Dypsis Mayotte -Dypsis Marojejyi (MadFox) -Kentiopsis Piersoniorum -Licuala Ramsayi

Thought I should share a couple pics. First is a 10 yo P. viscosa; next was purchased as P. aylmer-robinsonii, later rolled into “remota” by Don Hodel.

Yesterday, the members of the Hawaii Island Palm Society not presently in Peru traveled to Captain Cook, south of Kailua-Kona, to see the palm collection of George Peavy, proprietor of Kahili Kona farms, which grows quantities of citrus fruits and dragon fruits. But this topic is not about the club activity, but about many of the spectacular palms that we saw. The pics are in alphabetical order by genus for no better reason than that the order in which File Explorer stores them. First up is a spectacular pair of Bismarckia nobilis: Borassodendron machadonis Burretiokentia grandiflora Calyptrocalyx hollrungii A Chrysalidocarpus baronii with two heads. George Peavy says that the pair emerged when an old frond dropped. A trio of Coccothrinax crinita Cryosophila warscewiczii (upper center) A pair of Dypsis rosea (yes, still Dypsis) Elaeis oleifera Johannesteijsmannia (Joey) magnifica Joey perakensis (Joey-on-a-stick) Pelagodoxa henryana Sclerosperma mannii (center) and Pinanga javana (upper right) A trio of Vonitra utilis (George Peavy underneath) Finally, a landscape view from the farm with the ocean in the distance. End of story.

Now that it's autumn, watch for falling leaves! 🍂🍁🌴 Extremely robust crownshaft of Chrysalidocarpus canaliculata flattened an old ti plant. (Purchased as C. canaliculatus so that's what I call it.)

After 22 years, or so, of spectacular leaf spreads I had to say goodbye to my beloved Gigas. Two seed spathes dropped and no growth in over a year. It was time. I used a company called Arkadia ( https://yourarkadia.com/) . They did a great job! Very proffessional, on time, clean and left without a trace.

A couple of juvenile Iguanura wallichiana var. wallichiana were looking quite happy in a shady spot. Tim

Dictyocaryum lamarckianum Prestoea acuminata v. acuminata

This sixteen year old C. urens has been flowering and fruiting for six years. The latest infructescence is reachable from the ground. The weird thing is that its crown is still pushing new leaves. They are somewhat distorted. A new spear is evident but very difficult to photograph as the palm is about thirty feet tall. Has this occurred with anyone else’s Caryota of any species? I was otherwise expecting the palm to die in just a few more years.

Another one of my favourites in the chamaedorea collection!

Oh I forgot one which probably won’t survive but seems pretty unique. I have two Sommieria leucophylla in the ground, slow but OK from RPS seeds years ago. Here’s the larger of the two: Then I was gifted some seeds from HI a couple of years ago which germinated and are growing well but one has yellow to almost white leaves. Maybe it will have enough chlorophyll to survive, but if not you can at least see it here among its very deep green siblings.

Three spears on this Rhopalysyis caught me eye.

First flowering of my Prestoea acuminata came as a welcome surprise.

Lanonia magaloni and a dypsis lantzeana caught my eye.

We’re staying very busy and only intermittent internet. Here’s a teaser of the Ceroxylon forest we loved yesterday. Lots of seedlings once we entered areas cattle can’t reach.

more Chrysalidocarpus notovobontsira, featuring a moth model that is thankfully not an Opogona tokoravina

A few shots from the last couple of days Euterpe Geonoma Lepidocaryum tenue Attalea Iriartea Iriartea deltoidea Oenocarpus bataua

Nice little dypsis lantzeana got my attention this morning.

Updadate of 2022 post on growth of Jubaea Chilensis in Oregon. Current pictures of Jubaea 3 years later are show classic bulge in trunk with additionnal 3 to 5 foot verticle growth. Large Jubaea began producing fruit and nuts in late 2024 at about same time the trunk began to slowly taper out of the bulge.

I have many Chrysalidocarpus (Dypsis) hybrids in my garden and this is probably my least favorite. But it did catch my eye today. This is a Leptocheillos hybrid. Started as a single then split into two, before trunking. Now after trunking both sides have split again. Strange plant! Still not sure it’s worth a spot in the garden but I’ll give it some more time.

im always a sucker for a H beguinii Obi Island silhouette

Lots of nice palms here. Thanks to those responding and I look forward to more. Taking out the barely hanging on palms which fit better in the finicky palms topic and the seedlings not yet proven to survive, I narrowed it down to two palms. First Calyotrocalyx doxanthus from Floribunda years ago. And Pinanga aristata, a little more fussy and never holding many leaves, but dear to my heart after seeing many in Borneo on IPS travel. Also from Floribunda. Below is one of many photos I took in Borneo on epic IPS travel showing Pinanga aristata really happy. Still trying for that, but glad no leeches in Puerto Rico. For those who have insomnia and/or want to see more photos of this palm in habitat go here:

While not my rarest, Hemithrinax ekmaniana has proven itself a winner for the Arizona desert. Takes our full sun, extreme heat to 120F, and winter chills into the upper 20'sF without a scratch. One of my favorite palms due to it's compact nature, and relatively fast growth speed. (compared to most Coccothrinax species) I have already grown a few batches from seed to help preserve this rare palm from extinction. aztropic Mesa, Arizona

It’s always a pleasure to visit another private garden, it brings great joy to see another gardener’s passion. It makes you want plant more plants in own garden.

Geonoma undata

Areca tunku

Say that three times as quick as you can! Caixeta’s thread about Astrocaryum campestre inspired this thread on the only Astrocaryum I have in the garden. Mike Merritt gifted me an A. murumuru about six or seven years ago and being the spiniest palm I have ever seen, was planted in the back open space behind the property. Often neglected, I decided to clean it up a bit and post a few photos. South American and variable in its habit. Leaf undersides, (abaxial), are almost pure white and the it has spines everywhere, most prominent on the stems where they are 8” (200mm) long. No joke, a slip or fall into this palm will render one a specimen in an insect collection. Maybe Mike will post some of his A. murumuru or other species of this interesting genus. Tim