Ptychosperma elegans – Plant

Description

Solitaire palm is native to eastern Queensland, Australia where it occurs in coastal rainforests. In America, solitaire palm grows best where temperatures do not drop below 35°F because it is not very cold hardy. It prefers full sun to partial shade and can reach heights of 20 feet. The pinnately compound leaves or fronds can reach lengths of 6 to 8 feet and are attached to a 1-foot-long petiole or stem. They are dark green on the topside and gray-green on the underside. Leaflets are 2-foot-long, narrowly oblong blades that are bluntly squared and jagged at the tip. They grow opposite from one another on the rachis, displaying a “V-shaped” appearance. The slim trunk grows to a maximum diameter of 4 inches, is light gray or almost white, and has dark leaf base scars that encircle the trunk and lighten in color with age. On top of the trunk sits a two foot tall olive-green crownshaft (from which the fronds emerge). The crownshaft has a bulging base and smooth waxy surface. The heavily branched, green-yellow inflorescences are 2 to 3 feet long and appear just below the crownshaft. Inflorescences produce white male and female flowers. Fruits are bright red, about one inch in diameter, and egg shaped. (EDIS University of Florida.)