Caryota maxima

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Figure 1. C. maxima in habitat, Sumatra.

Synonymy:

C. aequatorialis,
C. obtusa var aequatorialis,
C. rumphiana var javanica

Common Names:

Giant Mountain Fishtail Palm

Distribution & Habitat:

Mountain forests of Java, Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia and S. Thailand.

Description:

As its name suggests, this is a very big palm, solitary, up to 30m tall, with a very long crownshaft. The leaves can get to 3m long, and 2m wide, and are dull green, with drooping leaflets.

General:

Relatively short lived for a plant of this size; it dies after flowering. This can cause problems if trying to remove it from an established garden.

Culture:

Full sun, moist, well drained position. Think twice before putting it into an average sized garden (it does get BIG).

Figure 2. C. maxima, and Salacca sp., Bukittingii, Sumatra.

Reference:

Palms Throughout The World, David Jones.

Contributed by:

Mike Gray

External Links:

Kew, PalmWeb, JSTOR, Trebrown

Google, Google Images, Flickr, PACSOA Forums, PalmTalk