Pronunciation: uh-RENG-uh TREM-you-luh
Common Name: Dwarf Philippine Sugar Palm
Arenga tremula is a pretty rare palm for California and its identity, when grown, is sometimes in question. It is very similar in appearance, at least while young, to Arenga engleri. Those that have grown it say it is more cold sensitive and a bit more graceful in appearance. Descriptions of this palm in the literature range from it being trunkless to having trunks up to 15' tall. Most palms in cultivation have indeed been stemless to short stemmed (so far). It is a beautiful palm and it those in California are indeed what growers claim they are, it obviously can grow here.
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Appearance and Biology
- Habit: clustering with a crown of 10-15 feather leaves
- Height: overall height about 12'; stem height 0'-1'
- Trunk: multiple; subterranean to 1' estimate; covered with thick layer of tangled fibers and retained leaf bases
- Crownshaft: none
- Spread: 10'-20'
- Leaf Description: pinnate; flat to rarely plumose; leaflets wider at tip than base and end with jagged, flat ends (premorse); dark green; 5'-8' long
- Petiole/Leaf bases: 2' long; unarmed
- Reproduction: monoecious; monocarpic
- Inflorescence: within crown and vertically oriented; 5'-8' long, often extending to tips of leaves or even a bit beyond; sparsely branched with thick stalks and many branched side branches; stem from which inflorescence comes from dies after flowering event over
- Fruit: toxic oxalates (inedible)
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Horticultural Characteristics
- Minimum Temp: 28F
- Drought Tolerance: moderate
- Dry Heat Tolerance: unknown
- Wind Tolerance: moderate
- Salt Tolerance: unknown
- Growth Rate: slow
- Soil Preference: adaptable
- Light Requirement: filtered sun to partial sun
- Human Hazards: toxic fruits (oxalates)
- Disease or Horticultural Problems: none known
- Transplants?: unknown
- Indoor?: unknown
- Availability: rare
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