Pronunciation: care-ee-OH-tuh MAX-ih-muh
Common Name: Chinese Fishtail Palm; Giant Mountain Fishtail Palm
Caryota maxima is a relatively rare Caryota for California, but it keeps showing up under other names that have all been turned into synonyms (the two most common being Caryota ochlandra and Caryota basconensis). It is very hard to tell from Caryota urens, though complete lack of a petiole is one clue. Cultivation and comments are basically the same for this palm as for Caryota urens, though it is reportedly more cold hardy (from high elevation throughout much of south Asia)
Synonyms: Caryota aequatorialis; Caryota basconensis; Caryota ochlandra; Caryota rumphiana var. philippinensis
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Appearance and Biology
- Habit: solitary with a vertically oriented crown of 10-12 bipinnate fishtail leaves
- Height: 50'
- Trunk: single; 10"-12" thick; very hard wood; whitish; ringed; retained, un-split leaf bases with some dark fiber wrapped around the bottom of each one
- Crownshaft: none
- Spread: 10'-15'
- Leaf Description: bipinnate; upright to nearly horizontal as they get older and farther down the the trunk; 10' long; last 1/3 of leaf pendent; pendent, narrowly fishtail leaflets; light green
- Petiole/Leaf bases: virtually not petiole (rachis begins right off trunk); wide, whitish leaf bases retained along upper trunk; un-split
- Reproduction: monoecious; monocarpic
- Inflorescence: below and among the leaves; pendent; 3;-5' long with many pendent branches
- Fruit: 3/4"; spherical; reddish-purple when ripe; toxic oxalates in fruits
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Horticultural Characteristics
- Minimum Temp: 24F (much less hardy when young); var. 'Himalaya' supposedly hardy to 18F
- Drought Tolerance: moderate
- Dry Heat Tolerance: moderate
- Cool Tolerance: good
- Wind Tolerance: moderate
- Salt Tolerance: unknown
- Growth Rate: moderate to eventually fast
- Soil Preference: adaptable
- Light Requirement: full sun
- Human Hazards: toxic fruits; trees known to fall over
- Disease or Horticultural Problems: none
- Transplants?: unknown
- Indoor?: unknown
- Availability: rare
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