Wallichia densiflora
| Wallichia (wahl-lik-EE-ah) densiflora (den-sih-FLOR-ah) | |||||||
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Contents
Habitat and Distribution
Wallichia densiflora is found in North India, Himalayas. Found in humid
Description
Hight, up to 18 feet tall (6 m). Spread, to 12 ft. Clustering and acaulescent. Flower stalk coming from among the leaves. Leaves are dark green, and arching, are bright silvery-white underneath and divided into fishtail-like leaflets. Fruit, 0.5 inch in diameter (1.2 cm) ovoid, seed round. Editing by edric.
Culture
Min. Temperature: 25°F (-4°C). Water Requirements: Abundant water. Sun Requirements: Light shade to shade. Germination: difficult and irregular.
Cold Hardiness Zone: 9b
Comments and Curiosities
This is a hapaxanthic (monocarpic is for annuals & biennials) genus.
"It is a great shade garden palm for So Cal, for those gardens with ample room. W densiflora is a suckering palm with a very short trunk (mostly subterranean) but with long leaves (up to 8' or more) and lime green, fish-tail shape leaflets along the petioles. The underside of the leaflets has a mild white tomentum. It is a reliable grower if given enough water (hard to overwater this one) and pretty cold tolerant (probably down to about 25F). It's pretty slow, so if you start out with a dinky seedling, it will be dinky for many years. This is a native of the lower Himalayan mountains." (Geoff Stein)
This wonderful rare dwarf palm from the humid forests of the Himalayas, where it grows up to an altitude of at least 1600 m (5200 ft), deserves to be much more widely grown. Its elegantly arching fronds are dark green above and bright silvery white below, and the leaflets resemble a fishtail. Although slow at the beginning, it speeds up considerably with age and develops into neat clusters to about 2 m tall. It is best grown in shade and suitable for subtropical and temperate climates. It will take prolonged cool weather and can tolerate moderate frosts without damage. W. densiflora also does perfectly as a house or conservatory plant and will look good even under less than optimum conditions. (RPS.com)
- IMAGE GALLERY
Wallichia densiflora inflorescence.
Vero Beach, Fl.
Hawaii. Photo by BGL.
Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney Australia.
Photo by Carlo Morici.
Hawaii. Photo by BGL.
St. Pete FL. Photo by Mike Evans.
St. Pete FL. Photo by Mike Evans.
Flower bracts. St. Pete FL. Photo by Mike Evans.
Flower bract. St. Pete FL. Photo by Mike Evans.
St. Pete FL. Photo by Mike Evans.
Los Altos, California. Photo by Jim Denz.
Flower bract. H.P. Leu Gardens, Orlando FL. Photo by Botonist, Eric S.
Flower bract. H.P. Leu Gardens, Orlando FL. Photo by Botonist, Eric S.
H.P. Leu Gardens, Orlando FL. Photo by Botonist, Eric S.
Photo by Geoff Stein.
California. Photo by Geoff Stein.
Los Angeles CA. Photo by Geoff Stein.
Photo by Geoff Stein.
Photo by Geoff Stein.
Photo by Geoff Stei.
Hawaii. Photo by Geoff Stein.
Hawaii. Photo by Geoff Stein.
Hawaii. Photo by Geoff Stein.
Floribunda Nursery, Hawaii. Photo by Geoff Stein.
Photo by Geoff Stein.
Mt Warning Caldera Nth NSW Australia. Photo by Pete.
Mt Warning Caldera Nth NSW Australia. Photo by Pete.
Mt Warning Caldera Nth NSW Australia. Photo by Pete.
Mt Warning Caldera Nth NSW Australia. Photo by Pete.
Mt Warning Caldera Nth NSW Australia. Photo by Pete.
Mt Warning Caldera Nth NSW Australia. Photo by Pete.
McCarty Hall Palm Garden at University of Florida, University Heights, south Gainesville, FL. Photo by Kyle Wicomb.
McCarty Hall Palm Garden at University of Florida, University Heights, south Gainesville, FL. Photo by Kyle Wicomb.
Cooper City, FL. Photo by Kyle Wicomb.
Cooper City, FL. Photo by Kyle Wicomb.
2015. Kyle Wicomb's palms at McCarty Hall, the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. In ground 2007. Photo by Kyle Wicomb.
Photo-viverolaconcha.com
Photo by Gilio Giacomozzi.
Photo by Gilio Giacomozzi.
Photo-Rare Palm Seeds.com
Photo-Rare Palm Seeds.com
External Links
- Glossary of Palm Terms
- MODERN BOTANICAL LATIN
- "Just To Be Clear"
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WE-IXZ30YVo
References
Phonetic spelling of Latin names by edric.
Special thanks to Geoff Stein, (Palmbob) for his hundreds of photos, edric.
Special thanks to Palmweb.org, Dr. John Dransfield, Dr. Bill Baker & team, for their volumes of information and photos, edric.
Glossary of Palm Terms; Based on the glossary in Dransfield, J., N.W. Uhl, C.B. Asmussen-Lange, W.J. Baker, M.M. Harley & C.E. Lewis. 2008. Genera Palmarum - Evolution and Classification of the Palms. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. All images copyright of the artists and photographers (see images for credits).
Many Special Thanks to Ed Vaile for his long hours of tireless editing and numerous contributions.
