Difference between revisions of "Parajubaea torallyi"

Revision as of 19:25, 21 September 2014

Pronunciation: pair-uh-joo-BAY-uh toe-RALL-ee-uh

Common Name:

Parajubaea torallyi is one of the very best but underused landscape palms for southern California. Endangered species from Boliva. Was very rare in cultivation until the early 2000 when lots of seed was first shipped in from South America. Plants can be a bit difficult when young, but then begin to grow faster with age and become much hardier. Trunks tend to widen with age for the first 15 years of growth when finally their maximum diameter is attained. This is an immense palm and has the potential of being one of the most magnificent specimens of all the palms that can grow in California. Still no mature palms with clean trunk by 2014, but soon. Many palms that are flowering and some even producing fruit already, though. Variety microcarpum has different sized seed, but not constantly different as a mature palm.

Appearance and Biology

Habit: solitary with a crown of about 10-15 feather leaves
Height: 50' estimate
Trunk: single; 24" thick; covered with thick layer of fiber and leaf bases; tapering for first 10-15 years, then beginning to become columnar
Crownshaft: none
Spread: 15'-18'
Leaf Description: pinnate; upright to lateral, or even arching downward on mature palms; 13'15' long; leaves twisting often to oriented vertically; about 100 leaflets per side of each leaf; deep green on top, slightly silvery underneath new leaves with very thin striations
Petiole/Leaf bases: 3'-4' long; initially covered with some coppery scurf, but smooth and green after a year; come off the stem very upright (nearly parallel trunk); very base of leaf hidden beneath trunk fiber; unsplit; usually retained on trunk for many years (eventually coming off soon after fiber falls away)
Reproduction: monoecious
Inflorescence: from below living leaves alongside trunk; 1'-3' long; male and female flowers on side branches
Fruit: 2"-3" in diameter; spherical; edible; brownish
Seed:

Horticultural Characteristics

Minimum Temp: 24F but some leaf burn likely in younger palms
Drought Tolerance: moderate
Dry Heat Tolerance: good
Wind Tolerance: moderate to good
Salt Tolerance: unknown
Growth Rate: slow to moderate with age
Soil Preference: very widely adaptable
Light Requirement: full sun
Human Hazards: none
Disease or Horticultural Problems: none, though unexplained deaths occasionally occur
Transplants?: very touchy
Indoor?: unlikely to be any good
Availability: rare, but periodically very available as seed gets shipped in from South America

Huntington Beach, California
Fallbrook, California
Orange county, California
Santa Barbara, California
San Diego county, California
Ventura, California
San Fernando valley, California
San Fernando valley, California
Huntington Beach, California, several palms of different ages
San Fernando county, California
Huntington Beach, California
Ventura next to larger, Parajubaea cocoides (on its right)
petiole shot
leaf color
petioles again
leave bases
petioles
younger palm
trunk of maturing palm, Orange county, California
old flower spathe (a bit stunted)
seedling
young palm in San Fernando valley, California
young

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 '''Common Name''':
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-'''''Parajubaea torallyi''''' is one of the very best but underused landscape palms for southern California.  Endangered species from Boliva.  Was very rare in cultivation until the early 2000 when lots of seed was first shipped in from South America.  Plants can be a bit difficult when young, but then begin to grow faster with age and become much hardier.  Trunks tend to widen with age for the first 15 years of growth when finally their maximum diameter is attained.  This is an immense palm and has the potential of being one of the most magnificent specimens of all the palms that can grow in California.  Still no mature palms with clean trunk by 2014, but soon.  Many palms that are flowering and some even producing fruit already, though.
+'''''Parajubaea torallyi''''' is one of the very best but underused landscape palms for southern California.  Endangered species from Boliva.  Was very rare in cultivation until the early 2000 when lots of seed was first shipped in from South America.  Plants can be a bit difficult when young, but then begin to grow faster with age and become much hardier.  Trunks tend to widen with age for the first 15 years of growth when finally their maximum diameter is attained.  This is an immense palm and has the potential of being one of the most magnificent specimens of all the palms that can grow in California.  Still no mature palms with clean trunk by 2014, but soon.  Many palms that are flowering and some even producing fruit already, though.  Variety microcarpum has different sized seed, but not constantly different as a mature palm.
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Difference between revisions of "Parajubaea torallyi"

Geoff Stein - Author & Editor

Revision as of 19:25, 21 September 2014