Ptychosperma caryotoides

Ptychosperma (tee-koh-SPEHR-mah) caryotoides (kahr-ee-oh-toh-EE-dehs)
Papa Bay Estates, South Kona, Hawaii Island. Photo by Al in Kona
Scientific Classification
Genus: Ptychosperma (tee-koh-SPEHR-mah) Species: caryotoides (kahr-ee-oh-toh-EE-dehs)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
Oceania
Morphology
Habit: Solitary Leaf type: Pinnate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
None.

Habitat and Distribution

New Guinea. Mountainous

Flecker Botanic Garden, Cairns, QLD, 28/11/12 Photo by Russell Cumming

Rain Forest, Central highlands.

Description

Small, (to 9m) single stemmed palm, with a whitish crownshaft, and wedge-shaped leaftlets on arching leaves. Variable in size. Some plants have been known to fruit at only 1m high. editing by edric.

Specimen dimensions: Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden; Stem solitary, 5 m tall. 3.8 diam. breast high. 5 leaves in the crown. leaf 155 cm long, 20 pinnae per side. Infructescence branched to 4 orders, pinkish. Fruit turning orange. (Dr.s Scott Zona & Carl E. Lewis 2001.)

Culture

Cold Hardiness Zone: 9b

Comments and Curiosities

"This thin trunked solitary palm from New Guinea has a surprising amount of cold tolerance (for a New Guinea palm) and has been grown successfully by many southern California palm nuts in zones 9b and 10a. It has very jagged leaflets - almost fishtail-like (hence the name - caryotoides; 'like a Caryota, or fishtail palm'). The terminal leaflets are particularly fishtail like. It has a rather sparse crown, but is an attractive plant in a smaller landscape." (Geeoff Stein)

A slender, moderately-sized, solitary species from montane rainforest in New Guinea with broad, wedge-shaped leaflets. Rare in cultivation. (RPS.com)