Palms For California

Pronunciation: lih-vih-STONE-uh SAHR-ih-bus

Common Name: Taraw Palm

Livistona saribus is an amazingly hardy palm considering its southeast Asian origins (native to over a dozen countries) and is a great palm for many areas of California. It is prized for its large, nearly circular, deeply divided bright green leaves, as well as its unusually large and ornamental petiolar teeth. In California it is one of the slower growing of the large Livistonas, but worth the wait. It is not a great desert and wind-blown-area palm, but can tolerate fairly low light, cold, swampy conditions, and questionable soils.

Appearance and Biology Habit: solitary with a crown of 12-18 fan leaves Height: 25'+ Trunk: single; 12" thick; usually retained, un-split leaf bases along most of trunk, with a very ornamental horizontal weave in between Crownshaft: none Spread: 15' Leaf Description: palmate to barely costapalmate; leaves nearly circular; deeply divided somewhat irregularly, nearly to petiole; deep, shiny green; 8' long Petiole/Leaf bases: up to 6' long; very heavily armed with stout, 1" or more long straight or wavy teeth; dark green fading to a very dark brown near the leaf base; un-split retained leaf bases Reproduction: monoecious Inflorescence: 4'-6' long; from within leaves; yellow flowers Fruit: spherical to oblong; 1/2"-1" thick; glossy blue to purple when ripe

Horticultural Characteristics Minimum Temp: 26F Drought Tolerance: moderate Dry Heat Tolerance: moderate Cool Tolerance: moderate Wind Tolerance: low Salt Tolerance: moderate Growth Rate: slow Soil Preference: adaptable Light Requirement: filtered sun to full sun (best not full sun inland) Human Hazards: very dangerous petiolar teeth Disease or Horticultural Problems: tends towards yellowiness if too much sun or poor soil quality Transplants?: unknown Indoor?: unknown Availability: rare