Hello everyone, I purchased this palm about 2 months ago and Just planted it. I was told from the nursery I bought it from "golden gate palms" in richmond ca that this was a hybrid wine pindo palm. I purchased the one on the right but was told they are both the same. Mine has unarmed petioles.

I am not that experienced in telling the differneces between them at this juvenile stage. I have added my pictures. Please tell me your opinion, is this a pure jubaea or a jubaea hybrid ? I know forsure its not a pure butia as the petioles are unarmed. Thank you everyone.

Certainly looks like a hybrid to me, nice score.

12 minutes ago, richnorm said:

Certainly looks like a hybrid to me, nice score.

Thanks rich. I just looked again and it has some hooked leaves on it which are a trait of Jubaea. May I ask why you think this is a hybrid ? thats what I am hoping i bought.

yes is hybrid

1 hour ago, gyuseppe said:

yes is hybrid

thank you for your response. May I ask why you say that ?

2 hours ago, richnorm said:

Certainly looks like a hybrid to me, nice score.

2 hours ago, PersianPalm said:

Thanks rich. I just looked again and it has some hooked leaves on it which are a trait of Jubaea. May I ask why you think this is a hybrid ? thats what I am hoping i bought.

Pure Jubaea has stiffer, stubbier leaflets and is much more compact. I have seen quite a few but of course I could be wrong as growing conditions and variation can deceive.

It might be a bit stretched out from being in a crowded nursery. The curvature of the fronds makes me think hybrid. I have a JxB and BxJ, they are both slightly recurved...but not like a Butia curvature. It might take a few new fronds to be sure what it is.

1 hour ago, Merlyn said:

It might be a bit stretched out from being in a crowded nursery. The curvature of the fronds makes me think hybrid. I have a JxB and BxJ, they are both slightly recurved...but not like a Butia curvature. It might take a few new fronds to be sure what it is.

awesome observation. Do your jubaea x butia or butia x jubaea have folded leaves ? or hooks at the end ?

I agree this is a hybrid. Doesn't look like either parent species, but has traits of both.

But do you know if this is BxJ or JxB? The latter is a more finicky palm when small.

2 hours ago, Chester B said:

I agree this is a hybrid. Doesn't look like either parent species, but has traits of both.

But do you know if this is BxJ or JxB? The latter is a more finicky palm when small.

I dont know a 100% but from all I gather I believe this is a jubaea x butia. My reasons are:

1. the petioles are unarmed completey, a trait of the jubaea.

2. Some of the leafs have hooks at the end, there are a lot of folded leaflets as well. From my understanding these are traits from hybrids and jubaea, not butias.

On 6/10/2026 at 3:11 PM, PersianPalm said:

Thanks rich. I just looked again and it has some hooked leaves on it which are a trait of Jubaea. May I ask why you think this is a hybrid ? thats what I am hoping i bought.

hooked leaves are a trait of the crosses too. Here is my B x J with hooks. I have seen a few dozen crosses at that size, looks like butia mother, jubaea pollination like mine

Here are the hooks on mine 10 years ago before planting

and here is the palm today, in an 8 month drought. Do not use overhead water when and if you irrigate it, as it will lead to mold spots. Mine is just escaping the the ground dew and has few mold spots these days, just a small amount on the lowest leaf or two. There was a time I almost removed it for the spotting, putting in the lawn was a bad idea in humid florida. Glad I didnt rip it out, its getting more impressive every year now. This one came from jungle music in california.

I have a regular Butia with hooks, purchased from Lowes. Boron deficiency can cause this.

21 minutes ago, sonoranfans said:

hooked leaves are a trait of the crosses too. Here is my B x J with hooks. I have seen a few dozen crosses at that size, looks like butia mother, jubaea pollination like mine

Here are the hooks on mine 10 years ago before planting

and here is the palm today, in an 8 month drought. Do not use overhead water when and if you irrigate it, as it will lead to mold spots. Mine is just escaping the the ground dew and has few mold spots these days, just a small amount on the lowest leaf or two. There was a time I almost removed it for the spotting, putting in the lawn was a bad idea in humid florida. Glad I didnt rip it out, its getting more impressive every year now. This one came from jungle music in california.

awesome palms. Did you have any folded leaflets on your palms ? looks like awesome growth over 10 years and a much bigger trunk than butias.

16 hours ago, PersianPalm said:

awesome palms. Did you have any folded leaflets on your palms ? looks like awesome growth over 10 years and a much bigger trunk than butias.

There were some folded leaflets close to the tips(<3"), but I was told the hooks were more definitive of jubaea blood. The hooks are temporary, a stage, so if you don't have them it may just be it has grown past that stage. Stiff petioles are another jubaea trait. I bought mine as a 15 gallon and it was recurved but the petioles were not easy to bend as a butia. I also have a (BxJ)x J which has the more symmetrical leaflet arrangements and less recurved petioles than my BxJ. I was tol that in northern california there are areas where jubaeas and butias grow in fields and they naturally hybridize. This is where my B x J came from.

5 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

There were some folded leaflets close to the tips(<3"), but I was told the hooks were more definitive of jubaea blood. The hooks are temporary, a stage, so if you don't have them it may just be it has grown past that stage. Stiff petioles are another jubaea trait. I bought mine as a 15 gallon and it was recurved but the petioles were not easy to bend as a butia. I also have a (BxJ)x J which has the more symmetrical leaflet arrangements and less recurved petioles than my BxJ. I was tol that in northern california there are areas where jubaeas and butias grow in fields and they naturally hybridize. This is where my B x J came from.

5 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

There were some folded leaflets close to the tips(<3"), but I was told the hooks were more definitive of jubaea blood. The hooks are temporary, a stage, so if you don't have them it may just be it has grown past that stage. Stiff petioles are another jubaea trait. I bought mine as a 15 gallon and it was recurved but the petioles were not easy to bend as a butia. I also have a (BxJ)x J which has the more symmetrical leaflet arrangements and less recurved petioles than my BxJ. I was tol that in northern california there are areas where jubaeas and butias grow in fields and they naturally hybridize. This is where my B x J came from.

Thank you for your observation. I can find a pure Jubaea fairly easy within 50 miles, but finding exotic hybrids are notoriously hard to find. I am currently looking for a 5 or 15 gallon Jubaea x butia odorata and a Jubaea x Syagrus.