Will the real Pritchardia beccariana please stand up?

[MattyB]

I've seen several palms that look different to me, all being labled as P. beccariana. So in an attempt to narrow down what a real P. beccariana is, I'll post some pics of a couple of mine.

Palm #1

Pictured below is the first Pritchardia that I ever got. It was labled as Pritchardia beccariana and I got it from Jungle Music in a 5 gallon pot in 2006. It was growing at my old place before I dug it up and moved it, but all the pics below are pics of the same palm, from 2007 to 2011.

[MattyB]

Palm #2

As I got more and more into Pritchardia I started seeing another palm, labled as P. beccariana, that I thought looked different than mine. So I got one of these P. beccariana, again from Jungle Music in a 5 gallon probably about 18 months ago. Now that it's all acclimated and showing it's true leaf form, think it has longer petioles, a larger, flatter leaf, with more leaf divisions, and those divisions don't extend as deep into the leaf as the previous palm. Also, this palm seems more sun and cold sensitive than my first palm. Here's my P. beccariana #2.

[MattyB]

Palm #3

Now just to muddy up the waters...

I have another palm, bought from Jerry Anderson, in a 1 gallon pot several years ago, as Pritchardia forbesiana. See it pictured below. To me this is growing just like palm #1. The only slight difference is that the leaflet tips are just a little bit more cupped upwards. So what is Palm #1, #2, #3?

[BigFrond]

Pritchardia for sure .... It's weird how the fronds of #1 changed over the years. They were flat when young but now more upright.

[Gtlevine]

My Beccariana looks like your first photo, I'll try to get a picture of it.

Gary

[quaman58]

I've always thought of beccariana as the Hawaiian Pritchardia with the roundest leaf (maybe excepting viscosa). It also seems split less than most others. Your #2 palm from Jungle Music seems to fit what I would think a smallish one would look like, based on pictures I've seen of adults in habitat. So there you have it. The #3 palm is Pritchardia pritchardiopsis for sure..

[MattyB]

Pritchardia for sure .... It's weird how the fronds of #1 changed over the years. They were flat when young but now more upright.

#1 will hold fronds flat/horizontal, and even lower, right down to the ground, but now that it's large, thriving, and has many leaves, I've been pruning off the lower leaves so I can walk by it easier.

[CardiffPalmNut]

Matty - #1 seems to be the one to me

[MattyB]

Bill, you crazy! My # 1 isn't even close to how cool yours is. Please post a pic! It's perfection!

[Stevetoad]

Matt #1 needs someone standing next to it to show how big it is. That one is AWESOME ! One of my favorite palms you have.

[MattyB]

and that last and largest pic of it was from April of last year too, so it's gotten quite a bit larger.

[Tom in Tucson]

FWIW, I don't own a beccariana, but the forbesiana you posted looks like the one I got from Dan at Anderson's. Within the limited number of species I own your #1 looks the most like the hillebrandii (blue form) I bought from Anderson's. At this point I guess the question I should ask is: Where should I buy a Pritchardia beccariana?

High 64F, Low 49F - mostly cloudy

[Manolitus]

Matty,

Here is a pic of one of my Pritchardia's. I have a pretty nice collection of them going in my garden. One day I will take a picture of each of what I think I have

My Beccariana. I think it looks like the ones in your first post. I have to research where I got this puppy.

Prichardia is the largest genus in my humble palm collection.

Hope this helps.

Manny

[MattyB]

Thanks for the pic Manny.

I'd say that your palm is closer to my Palm #2, in my opinion, because it has more pleates, the leaf divisions aren't as deep into the frond, it has the yellow stripe on the petiole, and the fiber is more of a grey color as opposed to a light tan.

[Joe palma]

I'll have to take a pic of mine, which has been in the ground for several years and is about the size of yours, all be it growing pretty slow for me.

I also have a forbesiana to compare to, but it's not in the ground yet.

[CardiffPalmNut]

Bill, you crazy! My # 1 isn't even close to how cool yours is. Please post a pic! It's perfection!

[MattyB]

Whoo dawgie! That yellow petiole stripe and the huge leaves with the high midrib and droopy outter edges is classic P. Beccariana. Thanks for posting.

[CardiffPalmNut]

And Matty its been a rocket, its 4 1/2 years from a small 1 gal.

[MattyB]

Whoah, that is really fast

[mike in kurtistown]

I am growing three Pritchardia beccariana here in east Hawaii, its native habitat. A short break in the torrential rains allowed me to take this picture today. Note the five-gal bucket used for scale. These were planted from two-gal pots 2 1/2 years ago, and are in full sun. Recently, the three plants have been orienting their newer leaves in the vertical, as are some of my other Pritchardias. This might be a growing strategy for the wind, which is constant and strong here. Note the wind damage to older leaves on the right hand side. It might also be a strategy for the full sun location.

The plants have a good pedigree. I collected the seeds from trees in Liholiho Park in downtown Hilo (the trees have since been removed). Those trees were planted by a traditional gardening group in the area called the Outdoor Circle, and were provided to that group by the late Donn Carlsmith from his collection.

[MattyB]

See, that yellow stripe again.

[hanapalms]

It's the costa that shows yellow on the leaves of some of the Pritchardia. More pronounced in full sun.

Your P. forbesiana is true to form for that species. P. beccariana can be deceptive when young. When they flower and fruit, the brachs tend to aim upward along the trunk axis more than outward in the horizontal axis, That has been my observation watching my five trees grow from seedlings to maturity. The leaf segments droop somewhat and the entire leaf tends to undulate moderately, rather than flatten out. The leaves seem more plyable than the other species.

Does that help? Or have I just muddied up the water even more?

See, that yellow stripe again.

[chris.oz]

Beautiful palms Matty, ultimately, i\under the right conditions, the leaflet tips of P beccariana are supposed to droop.

Matty, I will send you a PM.

[Phil]

MattyB,

Just saw your photos. Plant #2 looks more like what I'd expect of P. beccariana. Number 1 is close, but not classic. Is there any leaf coloring on the underside of #1. It should be pure green. The possibility of hybridization always exists, especially if seeds are obtained in a botanical or private garden.

Phil

[MattyB]

Hi Phil,

Yeah, #1 is close, but not classic, I like the way you put that.

#1, & #2 both are essentially all green on the undersides. But when you take a very close look they both have a very light amount of lepidida to them, so not pure, clean, glossy green. From an article I remember reading P. beccariana is supposed to have a slight amount of white/silver lepidida on the undersides, about 10% coverage. Both #1 & #2 have this 10% lepidida.

[Stevetoad]

I just got one with some help from Jastin. Can't wait to see what it grows up to be!

[Jastin]

I think it will be a palm tree Steve, who knows though

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

My Educated WAG:

Palm #1: pritchardia giffordiana, or also known as pritchardia beccariana var giffordiana, from higher >3000 feet elevation on windward side of the big island. Larger, bigger fronds, more like forbesiana. Us Norcalers really covet this one.

Palm #2: pritchardia beccariana, the lower elevation form of beccariana, also from winward side of the big island.

palm #3: pritchardia forbesiana, 1,000 feet to about 4,000 feet elevation on winward side of Western Maui.

Reference: "Loulu, The Hawaiian Palm" by Donald H. Hodel.

All three live in the same sort of conditions - cool and wet, just the kind of palms I need.

Matty, can you post an update? I was thinking to get one of JD's forbesiana just to compare to the big beccariana/giffordiana I have.

[MattyB]

the most recent pics I have are from a couple of months ago in this thread http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/38303-my-pritchardia-collection/?hl=%2Bpritchardia+%2Bmattyb#entry594467

[Tracy]

On 10/29/2013 at 12:13 PM, MattyB said:

the most recent pics I have are from a couple of months ago in this thread http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/38303-my-pritchardia-collection/?hl=%2Bpritchardia+%2Bmattyb#entry594467

Bump...updated photos of #1 and #2 palms.  I have a palm acquired from Phil at Jungle Music about a dozen years ago that was labeled as Pritchardia beccariana.  I think it most resembles your #2 palm Matty. 

It has flat, large round leaves with many shallow pleats compared to the deeper pleats on most other Pritchardia I have growing.

On 4/23/2012 at 6:22 PM, Stevetoad said:

I just got one with some help from Jastin. Can't wait to see what it grows up to be!

Steve please share a photo or two of yours as well.

[quaman58]

Tracy, yours looks 100% like beccariana to me. Great looking palm..

[Stevetoad]

3 hours ago, Tracy said:

Bump...updated photos of #1 and #2 palms.  I have a palm acquired from Phil at Jungle Music about a dozen years ago that was labeled as Pritchardia beccariana.  I think it most resembles your #2 palm Matty. 

It has flat, large round leaves with many shallow pleats compared to the deeper pleats on most other Pritchardia I have growing.

Steve please share a photo or two of yours as well.

Shoot I wish I remembered. I would have to think that it died or something. I only have 5 pritchardia, 2 are definitely hillebrandii, one is minor and the other 2 I don’t think I’ll know until they flower. I also don’t remember when I planted  or what one was and is probably the slowest palm I have. The other I collected in Maui from a botanical garden that is no longer there. One thing I am sure of is that none of them are beccariana.  You’re looks fantastic though. 

[Stevetoad]

4 hours ago, Tracy said:

Bump...updated photos of #1 and #2 palms.  I have a palm acquired from Phil at Jungle Music about a dozen years ago that was labeled as Pritchardia beccariana.  I think it most resembles your #2 palm Matty. 

It has flat, large round leaves with many shallow pleats compared to the deeper pleats on most other Pritchardia I have growing.

Steve please share a photo or two of yours as well.

There is a good chance that the one I collected died ( I’m starting to recall being numbed that it died) and this is the one I got from Jastin.  Still I’m pretty sure it’s not baccariana though.  It’s gets the crap kicked out of it by basketballs and wiggle balls. 

[Phoenikakias]

6 hours ago, Stevetoad said:

There is a good chance that the one I collected died ( I’m starting to recall being numbed that it died) and this is the one I got from Jastin.  Still I’m pretty sure it’s not baccariana though.  It’s gets the crap kicked out of it by basketballs and wiggle balls. 

Lol planting a Pritchardia near the bucket, it is pretty reckless (or perhaps inevitable due to an an already crowded garden?). I see a leaning trunk, is a that a feature of  certain obe or more spp?