Difference between revisions of "Acrocomia aculeata"

Revision as of 13:32, 5 October 2014

Pronunciation: ack-ruh-COE-me-uh ah-KEW-lee-ah-tuh

Common Name: Gru Gru Palm; Macaw Palm

Acrocomia aculeata is a Queen Palm look-alike except for its shorter leaves and very spiny nature. For those who want a tall, relatively rare palm with some hardiness, and like spiny palms, this might be a good one to try out. Was a synonym for multiple species that have more recently separated again (such as Acrocomia media and Acrocomia totai).

Synonym: Acrocomia mexicana

Appearance and Biology

Habit: solitary with a crown of 12-25 plumose leaves
Height: 40'
Trunk: single; faintly ringed; grey and woody looking; very spiny with long, stiff, thick, black, horizontal spines on most of the trunk (sometimes the lowest portion of very tall palms is bare); 14" thick; self cleaning
Crownshaft: none
Spread: 12'-14'
Leaf Description: pinnate; markedly plumose; leaflets on two, to sometimes, three planes; 8'-10' long; deep green to light green; spines along dorsal and ventral rachis though usually only part way towards tip of leaf; leaflets themselves unarmed
Petiole/Leaf bases: 1' long; slightly channeled; light green; armed along ventral surface with sparse, long, dark, black, stiff, sharp spines; petiolar margins unarmed
Reproduction: monoecious
Inflorescence: 2' long; highly branched; under woody spathe; yellow flowers
Fruit: 2"; spherical; yellow to brown when ripe

Horticultural Characteristics

Minimum Temp: 26F
Drought Tolerance: good
Dry Heat Tolerance: good
Wind Tolerance: good
Salt Tolerance: moderate
Growth Rate: slow
Soil Preference: adaptable
Light Requirement: full sun
Germination: known for its long germination of several years or more; faster if shell cracked gently and soaked well (shell extremely hard and not easy to crack, though)
Human Hazards: very spiny palms, and spines very long and very sharp- careful with falling leaves
Disease or Horticultural Problems:
Transplants?: unknown
Indoor?: likely very poor choice
Availability: rare though sometimes available through palm specialty nurseries

San Diego county, California
Huntington gardens, California
Huntington Gardens, California
Huntington gardens
Huntington gardens
Huntington gardens
Huntington gardens
younger palm, grown under name Acrocomia mexicana, San Diego county, California
crown shot
Nong Nooch Tropical Gardens, Thailand
Leu Botanical garden; Orlando, Florida
fallen leaf showing spiny areas
trunk spines
lower trunk on old tree- sparse spines
trunk on San Diego county palm
Huntington gardens spiny trunk
trunk of younger palm
leaf of younger tree
leaflets
inflorescences high in tree, Huntington gardens
fuzzy flower spathe showing spines near its tip
another shot of fallen infructescence
fruits

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 '''Common Name''': Gru Gru Palm; Macaw Palm
 </center>
-'''''Acrocomia aculeata''''' is a Queen Palm look-alike except for its shorter leaves and very spiny nature.  For those who want a tall, relatively rare palm with some hardiness, and like spiny palms, this might be a good one to try out.
+'''''Acrocomia aculeata''''' is a Queen Palm look-alike except for its shorter leaves and very spiny nature.  For those who want a tall, relatively rare palm with some hardiness, and like spiny palms, this might be a good one to try out.  Was a synonym for multiple species that have more recently separated again (such as ''Acrocomia media'' and ''Acrocomia totai'').
 Synonym: ''Acrocomia mexicana''
@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 *'''Soil Preference''': adaptable
 *'''Light Requirement''': full sun
-*'''Germination''': known for its long germination of several years; faster if shell cracked gently and soaked well
+*'''Germination''': known for its long germination of several years or more; faster if shell cracked gently and soaked well (shell extremely hard and not easy to crack, though)
 *'''Human Hazards''': very spiny palms, and spines very long and very sharp- careful with falling leaves
 *'''Disease or Horticultural Problems''':

Difference between revisions of "Acrocomia aculeata"

Geoff Stein - Author & Editor

Revision as of 13:32, 5 October 2014