Pronunciation: lee-ku-ALL-uh spin-OH-suh
Common Name: Spiny Licuala Palm
Licuala spinosa is easily the best Licuala species for California showing some remarkable hardiness not demonstrated by a mostly otherwise very tropical, cold-sensitve genus. This one is a good enough grower that it can make a useful, and very impenetrable hedge in some areas of California. It is a suckering species, but still makes an ornamental plant will well groomed and protected from cold and from hot sun.
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Appearance and Biology
- Habit: tightly clustering with a crown of 8-12 fan leaves per stem
- Height: 8'
- Trunk: multiple; 2"; covered with light brown, thick, tight fibrous weave; retained leaf bases along entire length
- Crownshaft: none
- Spread: 6'-12'
- Leaf Description: palmate; circular; lime green to bright green; deeply divided leaflets all the way to the petiole; leaflets premorse but consist of several pleats (each leaflet may be actually several fused leaflets); 2'-3' long
- Petiole/Leaf bases: 12"-18" long; yellow-green; heavily armed with dark, large, sharp teeth along margins; retained leaf bases; un-split
- Reproduction: monoecious
- Inflorescence: 4'-8' long; arching from within canopy but extending far beyond it; unbranched side branches every 6"-8" drooping downward; white flowers
- Fruit: ovoid; 1/2"; olive green turning to bright red when ripe
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Horticultural Characteristics
- Minimum Temp: 26F
- Drought Tolerance: moderate
- Dry Heat Tolerance: moderate
- Wind Tolerance: moderate to poor
- Salt Tolerance: low
- Growth Rate: very slow to slow with age
- Soil Preference: widely adaptable
- Light Requirement: shade to partial sun nearer the coast
- Human Hazards: very dangerous petioles, compounded by suckering habit can make trimming a dangerous proposition
- Disease or Horticultural Problems: leaves yellowy and/or burned in full sun
- Transplants?: unknown
- Indoor?: unknown, but might do well
- Availability: rare but readily available from many palm specialty nurseries
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