Unusual leaf order

[Steve Mac]

Well it may not be, I don't know.

Is it common for a D. decaryi to emerge 2 leaves bifid then 3 split  pinnate, then a big bifid again.

It is a Triangle that I grew from seed.

[DCA_Palm_Fan]

11 hours ago, gtsteve said:

Well it may not be, I don't know.

Is it common for a D. decaryi to emerge 2 leaves bifid then 3 split  pinnate, then a big bifid again.

It is a Triangle that I grew from seed.

I am not 100% sure, but I do know that some palms at this young stage  can actually revert backwards in terms of leaf development and that this can be caused by environmental factors such as less light.   I had this happen on a young Rhapis (still not sure of species)  and it went from 4 leaflets to 3.  I placed it back into high light / direct sun and the next leaf was back to four.   I don not know if this is typical of all species however. 

[Steve Mac]

I think that you are right Ken, when I say that I grew it from seed, this is what happened.

I found the freshly sprouted seed on a footpath under the seeding palm growing over a fence.

Then I took it home planted it in the ground out near the letterbox and forgot about it for about a year.

When Lizzy found it again it had the pinnate leaves, in full sun suffering from lack of water. It was lucky to live.

She repotted it in good potting mix and kept it moist in the shade. Then the new big Juvenile leaf shot up in a couple of months.  

It would seem that the harsh conditions accelerated the adult leaf development.

 

[DCA_Palm_Fan]

Sounds fairly normal.  Seedlings usually are best grown in at least partial shade.   Also,  I'm no expert but couple things in my mind stand out:

Some plants when in distress attempt to mature faster, and attempt to produce seeds faster when their conditions are poor, as a survival of the species mechanism.  Weather this is true or not for some or any palm species I do not know. 

We also know that many plants when grown in lower light conditions will often become etiolated (stretched out) and also have larger leaves with more surface area.  This is because of the simple fact that larger surface area means more photo cells packed in to take up light and produce energy.   I think this second one has more to do with reversion, since the bifid leaves (I would think) would have more surface area to take in light.   I had mentioned my young rhapis that reverted from 4 to 3 leaflets and the leaflets are fatter (wider / larger) than the leaf before it which has 4.   I placed it back into a more direct sun position and now its next leaf is coming out with 4 leaflets as expected.   So, this seems to me at least to be a function of the plant attempting to get more energy to grow and mature naturally, rather than a rush to mature and seed.    Then again, I  could be totally wrong.  Just a hunch I have.