Palms   Syagrus romanzoffiana

Synonymy: Cocos plumosa Arecastrum romanzoffiana Common Names: Cocos palm Queen palm, Pindo (local name in Argentina) Distribution & Habitat: Very widely distributed throughout Brazil and Argentina. Description: A tall slender palm, to about 15m, with a grey trunk, and slightly plumose leaves. Dead leaves eventually absciss from the trunk after several months, but until then, they can look quite untidy.

Figure 1. S. romanzoffiana

Figure 2. Looking up the trunk of S. romanzoffiana

General: Very common palm on the east coast of Australia, however not often seen for sale these days, since there are far more attractive palm available. This said however, a well grown plant of S. romanzoffiana can be quite attractive. In Australia it is quite common to find seedlings of this species sprouting in the garden, far away from any possible parent. This is due to flying foxes chewing the seeds like sweets, and then dropping them when all the sweetness has gone. Note: these palms are very damaging to flying foxes (see here) so its probably best to find alternatives if you're in a flying fox area. Culture: Extremely easy to grow in a wide variety of conditions. Both drought and frost resistant. Can take full sun from an early age. Seed is very easy to germinate, and small seedlings carpet the ground under mature specimens.

Contributed by:

Mike Gray (Figure 1&2)

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