Ptychosperma elegans
(R. Brown) Blume
Solitaire palm, Alexander Palm, Seaforthia palm
(c) Steve Fitzgerald, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Steve Fitzgerald
(c) palmlover, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by palmlover
(c) scott.zona, some rights reserved (CC BY)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit, Palm heart
The young unexpanded leaves are eaten as a vegetable, and the flesh of the bright red fruit (15–20 mm long) is edible. The palm heart is also harvested.
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. It grows in the rainforest in NE Queensland, in Australia. They will grow in the subtropics. It needs well drained soil. It can grow in part shade or full sun. It suits seasonally moist and dry climates. In the Cairns Botanical Gardens. In Townsville palmetum. They are sensitive to frost. It suits plant hardiness zones 10-11.
Asia, Australia*, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Indonesia, North America, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG, SE Asia, USA, West Indies,
How to Identify
A solitary palm which grows to 10 m high. The trunk is slender and grey. It is 7-20 cm across. The trunk has rings along it. The crown-shaft is whitish-green. The leaves are bright green and arching. The leaves are compound. They are 1-2.5 m long. There are 40-60 leaflets which are 50-60 cm long. They are smooth. The fruit is 15-20 mm long. They occur in bunches below the crown-shaft. The fruit are bright red. There is one seed which is about 15 mm long. The flesh of the fruit is edible.
How to Grow
Plants are grown from fresh seed. Seed is produced in large quantities and grows readily. Seed germinate in 5-6 months. They need protection from direct sunlight for the first 2-4 years. Seedlings transplant easily.
Propagation: Seed - if sown fresh, it germinates reliably within a few months.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Ptychosperma elegans, commonly known as the solitaire palm (or elegant palm after the scientific name), is a very slender palm endemic to Queensland in Australia. In the nursery trade and in the United States it may be confusingly referred to as Alexander palm, which is an often-used but misnomered name of another Australian palm species Archontophoenix alexandrae, the Alexandra palm (note the difference in gender between the two names).
Production
They can be very fast growing. It flowers in warm, wet months.
Names & Synonyms
Bangalow, Elegant palm, Palem solitari
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