Can you identify this species?

In october 2009, my friend and I visited rainforests in Peninsular Thailand.

We saw a small population of this species, growing on a hill top (elevation: 430 m / 1410 ft) in Krabi province, Thailand.

Even at the height of the rainy season, this particular hill top habitat was fairly dry, well drained, exposed to wind and sun.

It seems to be a rather low growing species, as no taller specimens was seen.

For scale, my friend and travel companion, Mr. J. Christensen, a tall gentleman. The palm is approx. 5 meters tall, including fronds.

Merry Christmas,

Tobias Valentin

Licuala peltata, but probably not var. sumawongii?

looks more like kerriodoxa.

None of above mentioned, its 100% Livistona and the "only" Sth Thai Livistona is Liv speciosa. Pete

It looks like a Livistona to me

It looks like a Livistona to me

Look at post above

I also think livistona, but I have no idea which species.

That would have been my last guess, because the leaves are so small. Perhaps all those l. speciosa growing in California are not really speciosa but a cross between speciosa and chinensis.

But I suspect Pedro is right, I have a bunch of seedlings, and they look like they would turn into the palm pictured at the top of this thread. Which makes those other things growing in California be something else.

Pauline Sullivan's l. speciosa:

And this one of about the same age is in the Oakland palmetum:

are these Livistona Speciosa?

are these Livistona Speciosa?

Peter did you take any pics at Waterbom Pk of the very beautiful Saribus rotundifolia's when you where in Bali? Above pic is SR. Pete

It looks like a Livistona to me

Look at post above

haha must have posted at the same time!

Pedro, I did not have my camera on me that day I went to Waterbom, the gardens were fantastic there!

I found this photo however, and again, not sure of the i.d.

Pedro, I did not have my camera on me that day I went to Waterbom, the gardens were fantastic there!

I found this photo however, and again, not sure of the i.d.

Thanks Pete, it was a good 10 yrs ago when the many grouped plantings at Waterbom of SR had a few mtrs of trunk, and WOW, the trunks "certainly caught my eye" They where a "gorgeous orange/brown with white rings. "Very, Very Stunning, Im "not sure" if the 1s Im talkn about are how "all" young trunking SRs look or whether they are a "special variant"

SR growers will be able to "tell all" and hopefully "show some pics" of the "amazing colourful trunks"

Heres 1 pic from Palmpedia in Thailand of a nice trunk.. believe it or not, the 1s in Bali had even "more appeal" Pete

I'm actually going to Bali in 2 weeks time and will take my camera to Waterbom and find the Saibus in question, I will keep you posted.

And this one of about the same age is in the Oakland palmetum:

Axel this seems livistona chinensis

but here livistona speciosa not there are,never seen

I'm actually going to Bali in 2 weeks time and will take my camera to Waterbom and find the Saibus in question, I will keep you posted.

Have fun, great family day there at Waterbom eh, theres many Saribus R's there, its been 3 yrs since our last visit to Bali and they where really getting some height the Saribus R's.

Heres a few shots of our only Livistona speciosa has been inground a good 14 yrs from a small 4" pot and "I hope" it looks " Special" as it ages , the leaves apart from the "hail storm" a month ago always look quite tatty after some windy weather. Its certainly getting some "girth" on its trunk now though.

Daryl, I didnt see your repost about us posting the same time till now, we certainly did post at the same time , both at 4.14

I know you are growing Speciosa, does yours ever look "special and appealing" ? Do you know any "good lookers" in Oz?

Anyone in Cali, Costa Rica, FNQ, Florida, Hawaii, Philippines, Thailand growing a Livistona speciosa that "looks good"??

Pete

Pete, my speciosa is certainly an attractive palm, not as nice as L.jenkinsiana IMO, but large glossy green leaves are a feature. Mine is too caught up in other foliage to take a good photo unfortunately. One of the features is the petiole colouration...mine has a nice stripe running along each petiole

Thank you all very much for your replies.

I am somewhat unskilled in South East Asian palms.

But I would say that the palms could definitely be Livistona speciosa. They are either this species or close to it.

A few questions:

- It seems that L. speciosa is the only Livistona in southern Thailand? (Unfortunately, I don't yet have a book like "Palms of Southern Asia".)

- Is Peninsular Thailand well studied/reviewed in terms of palms?

The palms were found in a primary forest "island" of a low mountain top, surrounded by lowland forest and agriculture.

Have you gathered any fruits or seeds? They can prove useful to identificaton.

Is that palm too big for Livistona exigua? I thought instantly of that palm(exigua) when I saw the reddish orange burlap in the crown... I agree in any case, with Pete--Livistona. Could it be a species we don't know yet? Looks a bit small for speciosa...

Unfortunately, I was thoughtless enough not to collect material.

It was only after I returned home, that I started to pay attention to these palms.

Mendrew, that would be interesting. So far, it's difficult to conclude that it isn't a new species, but I guess that is hard to tell from my poor pictures.

I saw no larger specimens than the one in the photo.