PALM

Rare collectible! Devil Palm, Ruffle Palm, Spine Palm.
Very tasty coconut-like nuts! Good palm for semi-shade garden.
This very different dwarf palm from South America, has attractive spines all over it and fabulous, gracefully arching leaves, covered with white powder, with long, wavy, closely- spaced leaflets. The fragrant flowers produce clusters of red fruit making it ideal for conservatory or a warmer garden where it can actually stand occasional, but not hard freezing. A solitary, showy spiny small tree. In the wild it grows 9-15 feet tall with a stem diameter of 2-4 inches. The epicarp and mesocarp of the fruit are rich in carotene and are eaten in Colombia, while the seeds are eaten raw or used to make candles.

This is a rare understory palm from Vanuatu (Tanna and Anatom islands) where it grows in the underwood of the humid forests, mainly along the coasts. The Snakeskin palm in habitat grows to about twenty feet tall, but much smaller in cultivation, with a trunk a foot and a half in diameter and when young is very difficult to distinguish from the Caryota zebrina. The leaves of C. ophiopelis are less glossy, a lighter green and thinner or finer, the leaflets less diamond shaped than Zebrina and mature trees would be much smaller than Zebrina. It will tolerate no cold, needs filtered light or shade, rich soil and ample water.
Caryota ophiopellis is a monoecious, monocarpic species (it does fructify only once then dies). Quite rare in cultivation, it arouses an increasing interest due to the unusual and showy coloration, in particular in the young plants. It requires a tropical or humid subtropical climate, a shady position during the young stage, slightly shaded when adult, and draining soils, slightly acidic to neutral, maintained humid. The starch contained in the stem, extracted with a special procedure and cooked to prepare a sort of bread, is still now utilized by the local populations.

Coconut palm. "Symbol of the tropics", often used as a houseplant. Fast growing palm proven to help clean indoor air of smoke and harmful chemicals. Bares coconuts 12 months a year for fresh coconut milk and copra (dried coconut).
We do not ship coconut palms to CA, TX, AZ, LA!