Palms   Geonoma undata

Synonymy: Unknown Common Names: The Red Crownshaft Palm Distribution: Central and western South America Habitat: Cloud forest Description: A very attractive, medium sized solitary palm, up to 7m tall with a slim, ringed trunk, cherry red to maroon crownshaft, and leaflets of varying widths. General: There is apparantly a small population along the famous Inca Trail in southern Ecuador, which has been featured in many articles in palm society magazines. Palm collectors have high hopes for this palm in cool temperate areas. Culture: Prefers cool and moist conditions, with a rich soil and medium shade.

Figure 1. G. undata trunk detail.

Figure 2. G. undata

These pictures were taken in a cloudforest near Cali, Colombia on the Western Cordillera of the Andes. These start occurring at 1900m, but are most vigorous at 2100m, where it is constantly cold. It is a beautiful palm with a salmon colored trunk and a candy red crownshaft. It needs cool moist weather to grow and has been grown succesfully in northern California as well as parts of New Zealand. (Michael Calonge)

Contributed by:

Michael Calonge, Collectors Seeds (Figure 1&2).

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