Chamaedorea costaricana OR seifrizii ?

[PalmBossTampa]

I have  grown a few batches from these mother palms in south Tampa on Swann. They take cold down to mid 20’s under canopy at my place and in 25gal containers have grown 10’ plus. How does one tell the difference between the two? 

[idontknowhatnametuse]

It's C. seifrizii. Very easy to difference them. C. costaricana looks like a slightly smaller version of C. tepejilote. But it's still very robust, and their flower/fruit bracts hang, while C. seifrizii bracts are erect. Also the ligules, only 2 species of Chamaedorea (including costaricana) have ligules. And the location too, to my knowledge, C. costaricana can't grow in Florida's soil due to nematodes or sandy soil, while C. seifrizii can tolerate FLA soil.

[aabell]

I agree with @idontknowhatnametuse - C. costaricana has very attractive, wide leaflets, closer to C. tepejilote than any of the usual Chams you seen in Florida. Unfortunately the last statement rings true as well, as this one has languished in the ground, I don't know if it's the soil or the heat, since this is a fairly high elevation species. 

C. seifrizii is from the Yucatan and can adapt to full sun in Florida, although it looks nicer in the shade. I've frustratingly had a lot of fungal issues with this one in the landscape however. They seem to fare better when they get some sun on the leaves so they can dry out more quickly in the summer. 

[PalmBossTampa]

1 hour ago, aabell said:

I agree with @idontknowhatnametuse - C. costaricana has very attractive, wide leaflets, closer to C. tepejilote than any of the usual Chams you seen in Florida. Unfortunately the last statement rings true as well, as this one has languished in the ground, I don't know if it's the soil or the heat, since this is a fairly high elevation species. 

C. seifrizii is from the Yucatan and can adapt to full sun in Florida, although it looks nicer in the shade. I've frustratingly had a lot of fungal issues with this one in the landscape however. They seem to fare better when they get some sun on the leaves so they can dry out more quickly in the summer. 

Thank you both 

[Darold Petty]

3 hours ago, idontknowhatnametuse said:

Also the ligules, only 2 species of Chamaedorea (including costaricana) have ligules. 

I believe that the second species, C. quezalteca has been reduced to synonymy within C.  costa-ricana.   

[gyuseppe]

is seifrizii