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This section is dedicated toward maintaining one active thread for each Arecaceae species/subspecies/variety/cultivar. Please feel free to add information and/or photos to existing threads or start your own by adding Genus/species as the thread subject. Note that listings are displayed alphabetically. Enjoy!
This is a plant that looks a lot like Brahea decumbens in terms of color and shape, but it turns out is is just an exceptionally blue/silver form of what used to be known as Brahea nitida. Like Brahea decumbens, its petioles have no teeth setting apart from Braheas armata and clara. Like Brahea decumbens. young juveniles of Super Silver are green, but they quickly become silver, and, thankfully, are faster growing. Still quite rare, these are definitely plants to seek and add to ones collection if possible. I am still looking myself.
Brahea Super Silver matt.jpg (161.62 KiB) Viewed 3125 times
Brahea super silver Dax.jpg (166.76 KiB) Viewed 3125 times
Brahea Silver another shot.jpg (134.13 KiB) Viewed 3125 times
Brahea Silver as juvenile plant chem.jpg (188.43 KiB) Viewed 3125 times
Brahea silver leaf Jeff.jpg (155.27 KiB) Viewed 3125 times
Brahea silver leaf from below.jpg (143.94 KiB) Viewed 3125 times
Brahea silver spineless petioles Chem.jpg (140.23 KiB) Viewed 3125 times
Brahea silver leaf petioles spineless.jpg (124.01 KiB) Viewed 3125 times
Brahea super blue-silver suckering Dax.jpg (159.79 KiB) Viewed 3125 times
labeled as Trachycarpus princeps by the botanical garden, but the palm folks on line narrowed it down to this plant, which was sort of what I suspected.
TRachycarpus princeps yet another angle Orto.jpg (417.7 KiB) Viewed 3110 times
Trachycarpus princeps leaf 2 Orto.jpg (358.58 KiB) Viewed 3110 times
Trachycarpus princeps leaf Orto.jpg (345.32 KiB) Viewed 3110 times
Trachycarpus petioles Orto.jpg (358.35 KiB) Viewed 3110 times
These habitat pictures were listed as Brahea nitida on iNaturalist, with some seeing calcarea and nitida as a synonym. I’ve been told the ‘blue’form of calcarea is actually different than ‘Super Silver’.
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Meangreen94z wrote: ↑Wed Aug 09, 2023 7:49 am
These habitat pictures were listed as Brahea nitida on iNaturalist, with some seeing calcarea and nitida as a synonym. I’ve been told the ‘blue’form of calcarea is actually different than ‘Super Silver’.
407965CE-2742-44C9-9FF7-3A480DC86D5D.jpegC5FB9386-99BD-4CF0-AD7C-A37CE8DE3B59.jpeg955D5B34-CAC0-4006-B5EC-792998859D4A.jpegBE05CDE9-3F12-41A6-A0FF-33F3EEC5A3D9.jpeg392D87C4-775B-40D3-B5C5-7DE6E1D456C6.jpegB29A7033-5539-4C51-8F9F-EE02703E2E84.jpeg154043A9-A9B0-438D-8F80-0A123B6C7FC6.jpeg3D860EC5-7176-4CCE-B434-8506BDD66D32.jpeg
Those are the kind of images that make that genus (regardless of species name) very desirable. It's hard to beat a palm that has all these traits: cold hardiness, sun (and heat) tolerance, and drought resistance. I've got to add more to my palm collection.
Meangreen94z wrote: ↑Wed Aug 09, 2023 7:49 am
These habitat pictures were listed as Brahea nitida on iNaturalist, with some seeing calcarea and nitida as a synonym. I’ve been told the ‘blue’form of calcarea is actually different than ‘Super Silver’.
407965CE-2742-44C9-9FF7-3A480DC86D5D.jpegC5FB9386-99BD-4CF0-AD7C-A37CE8DE3B59.jpeg955D5B34-CAC0-4006-B5EC-792998859D4A.jpegBE05CDE9-3F12-41A6-A0FF-33F3EEC5A3D9.jpeg392D87C4-775B-40D3-B5C5-7DE6E1D456C6.jpegB29A7033-5539-4C51-8F9F-EE02703E2E84.jpeg154043A9-A9B0-438D-8F80-0A123B6C7FC6.jpeg3D860EC5-7176-4CCE-B434-8506BDD66D32.jpeg
Those are the kind of images that make that genus (regardless of species name) very desirable. It's hard to beat a palm that has all these traits: cold hardiness, sun (and heat) tolerance, and drought resistance. I've got to add more to my palm collection.
Probably 3-4 years ago I bought Brahea calcarea ‘blue’ seedlings from Josh Allen in California. I asked if they were essentially Brahea ‘Super Silver’ and he told me no they were similar but different. I wish I had been more careful with the seedlings, I’m now down to one palm. I can confirm they are different, this palm has shown blue pretty much from the start. Where as ‘Super Silver’ turns from green to blue/silver once it starts trunking. Hopefully it’s a long term palm for me and I can describe it more.
Here are a couple pictures at dusk in a 5 gallon container, the blue isn’t quite as evident as mid day.
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I have a 'Super Silver' that in my conditions is glacial. Still green, it spear pulled after winter but thankfully has grown through the damage and pushing up some new growth.
I did encounter a palm in Mexico one time, growing in a front garden, that was for all intents and purposes a 'Super Silver' somewhere in nothern Puebla. The houseowner was home, we asked him where it came from, he pointed to some distant mountains. We were on a schedule and didn't have time to divert, unfortunately.
