leptocheilos / lastelliana

[doranakandawatta]

Long time I wondered how to make the difference between Dypsis leptocheilos and Dypsis lastelliana:

Recently I could notice that the seedlings are completely different but after my last visit to Thabit's garden, I think I am now able to recognize a Dypsis lastelliana:

The trunk is more green than leptocheilos which trunk is grey, the crownshaft has more bluish purple color in the brown, and the leaves are growing upwards.

For me, Dypsis lastelliana is far nicer than Dypsis leptocheilos, I must uproot the 15 leptocheilos I planted last year and destroy the 50 seedlings I got

Here pics of Dypsis lastelliana in Thabit's garden:

[BS Man about Palms]

I wish I could get Hybrids of the two.!! Lepto's grow fine here while lasty's struggle.. I would hope a hybrid would be excellent.!

[LJG]

I agree that Dypsis Lastelliana is a much nicer plant in the tropics.

However, I am not sure what you posted here are Lastelliana. They look like Leptocheilos to me. Maybe others will chime in though and give their opinion as I don't see many Lastelliana's.

[Dr. George]

I agree that Dypsis Lastelliana is a much nicer plant in the tropics.

However, I am not sure what you posted here are Lastelliana. They look like Leptocheilos to me. Maybe others will chime in though and give their opinion as I don't see many Lastelliana's.

I had the same thought as Len - I would defer to others with more expertise, but the pics look like D. leptocheilos to me. My first experience with a mature D. lastelliana was in a garden in Hawaii pictured below. The Lastelliana is left of center. These always impressed me as being more massive and having more upright fronds, as compared to our Leptoceilios with fronds that come to the horizontal.

D. lastelliana:

D. leptoceilios:

gmp

[MattyB]

I too think that the palms pictured are D. leptocheilos.

Hahaha. I was just looking for my pic of the same spot at Bo's with the D. lastelliana next to the driveway when you posted yours. funny

[colin Peters]

I have to agree, D. lastelliana seem to have more upright leaflets. And the color on the ones posted

seem more like my largest D. leptoceilios. For me lepto's grow much faster than D. lastellianas.

[Dr. George]

Another set of younger specimens.

D. lastelliana on the right (JD Andersen garden, HI):

D. leptoceilios (our farm, HI):

gmp

[Dypsisdean]

These two were/are notoriously confused. This confusion/mis-naming goes so far back it is almost ingrained. I still blurt out the wrong name sometimes having been taught them wrong from the start many years ago.

I'm with Len. The ones posted in post #1 are D. leptos.

The distinguishing features for me are more orange fuzz for D. leptos and more dark maroon for D. lastellies. And the much more upright fronds on D. lastellies. And as already noted, the D. lepto is not as large.

But both are incredible palms when grown to perfection, with D. lepto more forgiving in less tropical locations - IMO.

[steve99]

I have 15 year old specimens of both. I always thought the one on the left with more upright fronds was Dysis Leptocheilos, and the one on the right was Dypsis Lastelliana. But I could be wrong!

[MattyB]

I think you've got them mixed up Steve. D. lastelliana on left, D. leptocheilos on right.

[Daryl]

I agree...Phillipe's photos are of D.leptocheilos. Steve's photos have D.lastelliana on the left and D.leptocheilos on the right.

Apart from the darker fur colouration, shorter petiole length, slightly broader leaflets and greener petioles, the easiest way to identify D.lastelliana compared to D.leptocheilos, is the trunk. Mature plants usually have a much more swollen trunk base, and the leaf scars are much broader...not the internodes between scars, but the actual scars...typically D.leptocheilos leaf scars are less than one centimetre wide, whereas D.lastelliana are typically 2-4 centimetres wide...hope this makes sense

Daryl

[Cindy Adair]

As I was reminded from a mistaken post I made last year, this is D. leptocheilos.

[Cindy Adair]

This is my much smaller (planted by me, as opposed to prexisting on my farm when I bought it) D. lastelliana. At least that's the label on this one at planting time in 2009....

Thanks so much to all for reinforcing the differences and for all the great photos. I like them both!

[Daryl]

Leaf scars on D.lastelliana trunk

Leaf scars on D.leptocheilos trunk

Petiole colour/length of D.lastelliana

[Darold Petty]

Many thanks, Daryl. The leafbase scar dimension is the clearest and most useful difference for me, ( I see these palms infrequently).

[Cindy Adair]

Thanks Daryl!