Cyrtostachys renda

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Figure 1. A nice clump of C. renda in Kuching, Borneo.

Synonymy:

Cyrtostachys lakka

Common Names:

Lipstick Palm
Sealing Wax Palm

Distribution & Habitat:

Found in lowland coastal swamps throughout south-east Asia.

Description:

A medium sized clumping pinnate palm to about 6m tall. A spectacularly beautifull plant, with almost unbelievably vivid red crownshaft, and petioles.

General:

A very popular garden and landscaping plant in south-east Asia, but unfortunately virtually ungrowable outside the tropics.

Culture:

This plant is renowned for being extremely cold sensitive. Any temperature drop below about 15° C. is usually fatal. In the tropics however, its an easy plant to grow, provided it gets lots of water, and lots of sun.

Figure 2. Two mature clumps outside the Kuching Musuem, Borneo.

Figure 3. C. renda

Contributed by:

Mike Gray (Figure 1&2)
Gileno Machado (Figure 3)

External Links:

Kew, PalmWeb, JSTOR, Trebrown

Google, Google Images, Flickr, PACSOA Forums, PalmTalk