| Positive | palmbob | On Dec 3, 2003, palmbob from Tarzana, CA (Zone 9b) wrote: This is an attractive very small understory palm from various areas of Southern Mexico. It is sometimes grouped with the species Chamaedorea geonomiformis, but is clearly (to me, at least) another species. In fact, there are two very different varieties of this species, one from Chiapis and one from Veracruz. Both have short, simple, bifid leaves, about 4-6 per palm, and produce large, black fruits. Their stems are about 1/4" in diameter. This is one of the few palms I have had luck germinating by just stuffing the seeds in the ground, any time of year, in a dark, moist area of the garden and have them pop up. Like most Chamaedoreas, these are dioecious plants, so you need a male and a female.. and if you want fertile seeds, you have to go about the garden being a butterfly yourself, as their natural pollinators don't appear to occur in the US.
Chiapis form has long, narrow, flat bifid leaves and the plant looks like a minature Chamaedorea geonomiformis
Veracruz form has short, wide, curled bifid leaves and tends to hold less leaves than the other form |
