Pronunciation: kahm-uh-DOOR-ee-uh white-lock-ee-ANN-uh
Common Name:
Chamaedorea whitelockiana is a smaller, understory, solitary, dainty Mexican and Guatemalan palm named after a well respected and renown palm and cycad grower, Loran Whitelock. It is very rare in cultivation and likely to remain so since it rarely if ever shows up on a nursery palm list. It has relatively small, curled leaflets for a stemmed, solitary species.
|
Appearance and Biology
- Habit: solitary with a crown of 4-6 feather leaves
- Height: 10'
- Trunk: single; 1/2" thick; light green; fairly closely ringed
- Crownshaft: 10" tall, usually covered with old, dead leaf bases
- Spread: 2'-3'
- Leaf Description: pinnate; 2' long; in juvenile stages (when stemless or virtually so) leaflets narrow and closer together and leaves flat; as forms a stem, leaflets further apart, ovoid and curled and leaves more upright; bright green
- Petiole/Leaf bases: 6'; thin; unarmed
- Reproduction: dioecious
- Inflorescence: barely within leaves, but mostly below leaves as flowers mature and fruit begins to form; very upright; 1' long; sparsely branched
- Fruit: 1/3" thick; spherical; and black when ripe
|
Horticultural Characteristics
- Minimum Temp: 30F
- Drought Tolerance: moderate
- Dry Heat Tolerance: moderate
- Cool Tolerance: moderate
- Wind Tolerance: moderate
- Salt Tolerance: unknown
- Growth Rate: slow
- Soil Preference: moist and well draining; rich and acidic
- Light Requirement: shade to filtered sun
- Human Hazards: none
- Disease or Horticultural Problems: prone to thrip infestation
- Transplants?: unknown
- Indoor?: unknown
- Availability: very rare
|
