Phenakospermum guyannense

[aussiearoids]

Large growing relative to Strelitzia .

This plant took over 8 years to establish and flower , it's now a large clump.

Infloresence towers about 5 m high .

Put a pix of the base of the plant in the pets thread , with Peter Sargent and his dogs.

[aussiearoids]

Here is Peter .

[aussiearoids]

It was very frustrating when my old Kodak digicam started stuffing up just when the first flowers opened up on this plant , lucky I got the Canon before the flower died . Here is a Kodak moment , sorry about quality.

[Carlo Morici]

This plant is still in my hearth since the Biennial in Venezuela in 1994. On the post-biennial tour we visited the high plateau of Gran Sabana, and sow many Phenakospermum (of the high-elevation, possibly cool-proof form). I had some plants resulting from my trip but they all eventually died. It was a time of too much moving for me, from Florence, to Sicily, to the Canary Islands, and I could not take care of them.

Where is the plant you pictured? Will you get seeds?

Carlo

[amazondk]

Here are some of the plants in habitat here around Manaus.  They are extremely common in the area, especially along road sides.  Maybe that is why no one here seems to plant them.

dk

[ron@springhammock]

I've been nursing a couple of little ones along for several years; treating them like they belong in a deep, dark jungle as I invisioned them in the wild.  It looks like I was wrong and need to get these guys out in the sun.

[amazondk]

Ron,

I would move them out to the sunlight.  They are found in areas like my picture, they do like moist soil you see them growing frequently in conjunction with Maurtia flexuosa.  They also grow around here in areas with secondary vegetation, I think that is why they are so common along road sides.  Areas where the Mauritia grow have a lot of sunlight and are quite moist.

dk

[ron@springhammock]

Don, thanks for the tips.  If it was only a little warmer here, I'd being putting in my own little red pond with Maurtia flexuosa and Phenakospermum. I used your original post as my wallpaper for a while and never realized what those were.  I assumed they were some sort of robust Heliconia.  Do you know if they can handle sitting in water like the Maurtia?

[deezpalms]

Does anyone know how to get some of these in california? I have the regular travellars palm and would like some of these as well.

[cagary]

Tropiclab in Suriname has rhizomes available.

Last spring I ordered ten, they sent 17, but after a few months I'm down to two survivors. Most never even started to grow even though they arrived in what seemed to be good condition.

I've got them in sandy, fast draining soil in pots under shade cloth here in south Orange County, CA.

http://tropilab.com/rhizomesbulbous.html

http://tropilab.com/palulu-big.html

They have some interesting photos of the plant.

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

RPS has seeds occasionally.  I ordered 10 seeds a few years back when I lived in Florida.  Only a couple germinated and quickly died within a week or so.  I really like this plant and would like to try it again but I have not seen any in Costa Rica yet.

[metalfan]

Those plants are very cool! And please, tell Peter, I think his beard is totally kewl!!!!!