New to being a plant mom… What kind of palm is this?

[RinnaPalm]

Hello everyone!!! I am very confused about what type of palm this is. I went to the nursery today looking for my first plant to set on my western-facing lanai. Originally, I did NOT want a palm because I am a Florida native who wanted more variety, but I was still open to them as long as the leaves weren’t waxy or sharp. My research led me to find the Areca palm, which turned out to be mostly what I was looking for. I asked one of the workers at the nursery where I could find one, and she told me they were all out!! I continued to look around and stumbled on the tree I ended up purchasing. It was labeled as a cat palm, but it still had the look I wanted, so I didn’t care much about the name. The guy at checkout asked if it was the Areca palm since they don’t label the plants themselves. I knew he would ask, so I showed him the picture labeling it as a cat palm. I took the palm home and downloaded the plant parent app to help me understand what is needed to care for it. The app told me that my palm was actually an Areca, and so did 3 other websites I tried to use to help clear the confusion. Long story short, I am now a proud owner of whatever the heck this is and wanted to ask the experts, not the AI. Feel free to add all the advice you can to care for her. It seems I get mixed answers around every corner. 

She is currently in the 3-gallon nursery pot I bought it in, which is inside of a clay decorative pot. Both pots have drains. Like I said, I have her situated on a west-facing screened/roofed porch lanai thing. The direct sunlight only lasts for maybe 2-3 hours if that before the other buildings block the direct rays. The porch is always indirectly bright and breezy. I was told not to cut the brown spots and that it’s a fungal infection from overhead water at the nursery. Anyway, thank you for your time! 

 

- Lisa Rinna the mystery palm 

[JLM]

Definitely Chrysalidocarpus lutescens (formerly Dypsis lutescens), aka Areca or Golden Cane palm. 

As far as care goes, I cant really help with that. I have one, but it gets neglected all to hell, and yet still somehow looks good/decent.

Your palm does look quite healthy though!

[Fusca]

Welcome to Palmtalk @RinnaPalm!  Agree, it's Chrysalidocarpus lutescens (areca palm).  I guess you plan to keep it in a pot.  I just bought one myself - they do best with filtered sunlight so it seems like you have a good spot for it.  Make sure that the soil drains well and that it doesn't sit in water.  It's a clustering palm (like the cat palm) so it will produce additional stems as it grows.  With the number of thin stems it's likely that your pot contains multiple young palms.  Good luck with it!

[happypalms]

Welcome to palmtalk, may the world of palms bring you great joy. You have as others above stated a golden cane also know as Chrysalidocarpus lutescens. 

[Harry’s Palms]

Welcome ! The “ cat “ is out of the bag , you have a Chrysalidiocarpus Lutescens . They are very easy to grow palms . If it is to remain a potted plant , make sure to use a fast draining soil of good quality . Put pebbles in the bottom of the pot before adding soil and make sure the pot has good drainage holes . . The biggest failure to potted plants is overwatering and clogged , mushy soil. Don’t worry about fertilizer right away . It looks like you have a perfect spot for it. Indirect or filtered sun light .    
         If you live in a favorable climate , they make lovely additions to the garden and can get large . Harry

[wimmie]

In the seventies, when this palm was introduced in Holland as a houseplant, it was named Chrysalidocarpus lutescens, later on  I was told to name it as Dypsis lutescens, but is it now named Chrysalidocarpus again????

[Fusca]

26 minutes ago, wimmie said:

In the seventies, when this palm was introduced in Holland as a houseplant, it was named Chrysalidocarpus lutescens, later on  I was told to name it as Dypsis lutescens, but is it now named Chrysalidocarpus again????

Yes because Dypsis is too hard to spell and pronounce.

[SeanK]

2 hours ago, Fusca said:

Yes because Dypsis is too hard to spell and pronounce.

You got me laughing at that one.

[wimmie]

19 hours ago, Fusca said:

Yes because Dypsis is too hard to spell and pronounce.

😎

[wimmie]

But seriously folks, is it back to its original name?

[Fusca]

12 hours ago, wimmie said:

But seriously folks, is it back to its original name?

Yes, it's back to Chrysalidocarpus lutescens.  The big name change came about 3 1/2 years ago.  Check out the official announcement here:

 

[wimmie]

Thanks!

[Kim]

To add a bit to the discussion -- yes, some commonly call this an areca palm.  And there are many other common and colloquial names -- golden cane, butterfly palm, yellow palm, bamboo palm (but not cat palm). Unfortunate, because this is at a minimum confusing, and also misleading. Areca is a totally different genus of palm. If you can remember the epithet "lutescens" you are halfway to becoming a palm expert. 😉😎

Oh, by the way, plant apps are mostly still in kindergarten. Not to be trusted!

Welcome to PalmTalk!