Licuala khoonmengii

Licuala (lik-oo-AH-lah) khoonmengii (koon-MENG-ee)
In habitat. Photo by Clayton York, Utopia Palms & Cycads
Scientific Classification
Genus: Licuala (lik-oo-AH-lah) Species: khoonmengii (koon-MENG-ee)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
Asia
Morphology
Habit: Clustering Leaf type: Costapalmate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
None.

Habitat and Distribution

Malaya.

In habitat, Borneo. Photo by Clayton York, Utopia Palms & Cycads

Culture

Tropical Moist Forest, Cold Hardiness Zone: 10b

"My licuala need fertilizer, I use citrus and rhododendron fertilizer on them, the added acidity makes them grow gangbuster and keeps them vibrant green. I think yours would look greener if you fed them with acidifying fertilizer as well." (Dr. Axel Kratel.)

Comments and Curiosities

This dwarf Licuala from rainforests in Terengganu on the Malay peninsula, is surely among the most breathtakingly beautiful in the genus, and easily comparable to such species as L. mattanensis or L. cordata. Its leaves are divided into 5 or 7 segments, with a large one in the middle and consecutively more narrow ones towards the base. They have an almost blue-gray metallic color -- just wonderful in the dim understory of the tropical forest but hard to capture on film with a flash. Described as recently as 1997 it seems to be practically unknown in cultivation. (RPS.com)