Below, a specimen of Hyophorbe lagenicaulis, in Waimea Valley Botanical Garden, Oahu. Bottle palms are named such for its trunk, which suddenly enlarges at the base, looking much like a bottle. This specimen, is quite old and is reaching its species height limit of 30-35'. Most bottle palms have a more obviously bottle-like trunk, because they are usually found in shorter sizes.
Bottles rarely have more than 5-7 leaves on them and they are self-cleaning. That means that when the frond senesces, it simply falls off, unlike today's earlier royal palm, which has persistent leaves. The leaf texture is much more coarse, with thicker leaflets. This does make it easier to appreciate the clear, jade green color of the leaves.
A younger specimen of bottle palm is below. Bottles are endemic to Mauritius Island, where wild stands of this tree are very rare and diminishing. Bottles are however, very popular as container plants due to their small size and striking silhouette.
In Malaysia there are so many palms, does the bottle palm have any relationship to the Palm oil palm? There is a distinct smell to them as well.
ReplyDeleteDepends if its a red bottle palm or the regular green or grey (plain) bottle palm. Hyophorbe Lagenicaulis is one of the favorite choice for landscaping if cost is no object.
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