Licuala sp. identification help

[James_Guam]

Greetings all!

I'm looking for some help identifying my Licuala palms. I purchased them from a local plant vendor, but they weren't sure of the exact species. I had purchased some seeds of L. peltata var sumawongii and L. orbicularis on the internet prior to finding these palms locally. They're already starting to sprout and I'm pretty excited! So I am basically hoping these are of L. grandis but if they're not, it's not a problem. Thank you in advance for your help!

-James


Overall shot


New leaf


Leaf up-close


Leaf bases

 

[Dypsisdean]

I am pretty sure that is exactly what you have. Coming for a local dealer that is the most obvious, and I had a bunch at that age and they look identical. But Licualas are a difficult ID - and this is the first time I have ever offered a guess - only because I am fairly certain - but not positive.

 

[James_Guam]

I am pretty sure that is exactly what you have....But Licualas are a difficult ID - and this is the first time I have ever offered a guess - only because I am fairly certain - but not positive.

Thank you for the insight. Some of the local nurseries here on Guam use the scientific names on their plant labeling and are knowledgeable which helps me do more research online to plan out if I want the plant and what the requirements are, space-wise and care-wise for foreign species. I'm quite a bit more familiar with endemic species so it's always nice to have a knowledgeable nurseryman.

Thanks again!

-James

 

[ScotTi]

James, They look like L. grandis to me also.

 

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

I've planted a ton of these in Costa Rica. I agree they are Licuala grandis.

 

[Palmarum]

They are L. grandis, but I've noticed a few leaves are starting to divide (or were split by contact) instead of stayed entire. If they continue to divide they could be Licuala cabalionii, which is basically the split-leaf counterpart to L. grandis, and the closest relative to L. grandis as well. When both species are about that size, they are almost indistinguishable until the leaf changes. They are also native to the same island in Vanuatu, making seed collection of either species possible.

Ryan

 

[James_Guam]

They are L. grandis, but I've noticed a few leaves are starting to divide (or were split by contact) instead of stayed entire. If they continue to divide they could be Licuala cabalionii, which is basically the split-leaf counterpart to L. grandis, and the closest relative to L. grandis as well. When both species are about that size, they are almost indistinguishable until the leaf changes. They are also native to the same island in Vanuatu, making seed collection of either species possible.

Ryan

Thanks Ryan,

I do believe that the leaves split because of handling, however, I will continue to monitor and see if the leaves come out naturally split. After reading your post I headed out to the back to see if the newer leaves showed signs of splitting naturally. They all seemed to be caused by the back-to-back tropical storms we had in the last two weeks. Along the splits they were brown so I'm assuming that's because they were damaged from the wind storm.

Thanks again!

-James

 

[Jeff Searle]

I agree with the others, they do appear to be L. grandis, BUT, keep an eye out like Ryan stated, there's a slim chance of them being L. cabalionii, if they split on their own.

 

[James_Guam]

Thank you for all the input ya'll. In other exciting Licuala news, two more of my L. peltata var. sumawongii seeds sprouted so I've potted them up. The orbicularis is taking it's time. I did remove the shell (unsure of the technical term), the thin woody coating between the husk and the actual seed on the peltatas which we do here for fan palm seeds and fruit tree seeds. That's probably why they have had faster germination. It was too delicate of a task to remove the shells from the orbicularis seeds so I let them alone. This is a fairly common technique here, but for betelnut and coconuts we just let them sprout on the ground. Have a good day everyone!

-James

 

[Dypsisdean]

Be ready to have them try your patience. They are pretty slow as small plants. And even slow as juveniles. But well worth it when they get come size.