Need confirmation on my ID of Seussing giant Bottle at ANSG

[bubba]

As I was leaving ANSG, I saw what I believe to be a giant Seussing Bottle ( Hyophorbe lagenicaulis). It is deep in the palmage but appears to be over twenty (20) feet tall. It is hard to photograph but I have two (2) shots from separate angles:

 

[bubba]

The giant Bottle from the first picture above is squarely in the middle of the photo but underneath what appear to be a gaggle of Archontophoenix. It is quite small in the photo and needs throttling up to see the odd-duck crownshaft and plumage. The second picture I believe confirms the ID. In this picture you get the strange Seussing of the crownshaft together with the plumage. From my vantage point, it appeared well over 20 feet tall or very ancient:

[Looking Glass]

Hard to tell from your shots, but could that be Gaussia something or other.   Princeps gets weird and tall like that. 

[bubba]

Thank you for your attempt. Horrible pictures! When I get a chance, I will break through and get a better shot!

[bubba]

After Looking Glass pointed out Gaussia, I went back and got more pictures. After additional research, I have to agree that this is a Gaussia priceps. It is approximately twenty (20) feet tall and seems to follow the description noted in Palmpedia. A couple of additional updated pictures:

[bubba]

Roots:

[bubba]

Additional shots of the skinny nature of the palm as you near the crown:

[bubba]

One oddity that I noticed in my research was that the pictured palm seems to have an extended skinny green crownshaft, which is hard to see in the Cuban older specimens. This is a cool palm and the long skinny green crownshaft can be seen in this long distance shot:

[tim_brissy_13]

Not Hyophorbe or Guassia. I’m really not sure  though, maybe something like Bentinckia nicobarica? Looks like it’s suffered from something recently getting a bit of pencil thinning in the trunk. 

[bubba]

Tim,

As I worked on the post, I had the same thought. Something about that strangely long crownshaft did not square with Gaussia. It may just be some kind of twisted hybrid. I will look into Bn. 

[Looking Glass]

5 hours ago, bubba said:

One oddity that I noticed in my research was that the pictured palm seems to have an extended skinny green crownshaft, which is hard to see in the Cuban older specimens. This is a cool palm and the long skinny green crownshaft can be seen in this long distance shot:

Yeah.  That crownshaft does throw things off a bit, I agree.   I looked at the palmpedia picks too.   Long and weird they get, but don’t see much crownshaft after all.

 

[bubba]

Looking Glass,

You posted your young Teddy Bear and there is a tall palm behind it that looks like the Bentinckia nicobarica mentioned by Tim. I noticed that the Bn specimens at Fairchild look very similar to yours in the background. Is that possible?

[Looking Glass]

1 hour ago, bubba said:

Looking Glass,

You posted your young Teddy Bear and there is a tall palm behind it that looks like the Bentinckia nicobarica mentioned by Tim. I noticed that the Bn specimens at Fairchild look very similar to yours in the background. Is that possible?

All of the mature palms behind them are Adonidia merrillii.  Quadruples, doubles, triples…. Neighbors on all 3 sides have them along the borders.  They annoy me with their constant flowering and seeding, but I must respect their ability to grow and look good with total neglect here.   One of the most common yard trees around here.