Geonoma congesta subsp. congesta Species Information

Family: Arecaceae Palm Tree

Common Name: Suita Palm

Scientific Synonymy:
Geonoma calyptrogynoidea

Cold Hardiness Zone: 10a View the UK and US zone maps

Geonoma congesta subsp. congesta Information

A clump-forming, medium sized, water-loving, moderately fast growing, monoecious, forest understorey palm. Rare in cultivation and locally common in the wild. It has smooth, green stems, 5 m. (16.4 ft.) tall, 2.5 cm. (1 inch) diameter with spaced ring leaf scars, and large segmented, pinnate (feather) leaves, 1.8 m. (6 ft.) long, 1 m. (3.3 ft.) wide, green above and beneath.

This plant is suitable, while young as a houseplant or conservatory plant.

Geonoma congesta subsp. congesta naturally occurs in wet and humid tropical rainforest. In this type of natural environment temperature fluctuations are slight, and this palm prefers a constantly hot and humid climate with little temperature difference between day & night, and Summer & Winter. This palm will not tolerate cool for very long.

Identification

Stems clustered 2-7 m, often in large clumps of 10-20 stems, rarely solitary; stem height 1.5-5 m; stem diameter 2-2.9 cm; internode length 2.6-3.1 cm; number of leaves per stem 10-15. Leaves irregularly pinnate with multi-veined pinnae, rarely undivided; sheath length 19.5-43.5 cm; petiole length 19-50 cm; rachis length 48.0-119 cm; rachis width 4.4-9.3 mm; number of leaf divisions per side of rachis 1-8; basal pinna length 56-82.5 cm; basal pinna width 12.3-40.5 cm; basal angle of pinna divergence 15-42Â°; apical pinna length 17.5-48 cm; apical pinna width 14.3-33 cm; apical angle of pinna divergence 22-35Â°. Inflorescences interfoliar; prophyll length 16-28.2 cm; peduncular bract length 21.5-30 cm; distance between bract scars 1.4-4.8 cm; peduncle length 32-60.4 cm; peduncle width 5.1-10.3 mm; orders of inflorescence branching 1; rachilla length 14.5-34 cm; rachilla width 4.5-8.3 mm; number of rachillae 3-8; flower pits arranged in close, vertical rows; fruit globose or obovoid, green or black length 11.8-15.5 mm; diameter 8.3-11.2 mm.

Species information currently being revised.

Distribution

Native to: Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama

Central America in Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and western and central Panama as far east as the Canal Zone at 255(25-1000) m elevation in lowland tropical rainforest.

Location: Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador. (7.928675°N, -78.222656°E)

Observations

Map may not represent the complete natural distribution. (Markers display observation data).