Inventory of Palms, Cycads and Zamias “The Shambles”

Cycads and Zamia

Cycas revoluta (Sago cycad) x3 Southern Japan Slowly establishing Blue trellis garden

Lepidozamia peroffskyana (shining burrawang) Deathly slow to establish in our own north west rain forest area. Rainforest Corner

PALM TREES ‘The Shambles” 2020

Archontophoenix alexandriae (Alexandria palm) syn. Seaforthia elegans syn. Ptychosperma elegans. A tall iconic garden palm in warm climate gardens, named in honour of Lord Seaforth, “Botanices periti cultoris et fautoris.”  Plants have been raised at the Royal Gardens of Kew from seeds transmitted by Allan Cunningham; Often seen grouped in front of the traditional Queensland house. In the catalogue at Camden park NSW by 1850. Eastern Australia, Rockingham Bay. 1.1875 (Ptychosperma alexandriae), 1A.1885 (Archontophoenix alexandrae), 5.1897, 13.1900/1 Orchid Walk, Blue trellis garden

Archontophoenix cunninghamii (bangalow palm) syn. Ptychosperma cunninghamiana Together with A. alexandriae there are examples singly and in groups throughout the western side of our garden, related to areas of rainforest trees with good ornamental effect. Eastern Australia, Cape York. 1A.1885 (Archontophoenix cunninghamii), 5.1897 (Ptychosperma cunninghamii), 13.1900/1 Front Driveway Entrance, Orchid Walk, Blue Trellis garden, Rainforest Corner

Chamaedorea elegans (parlour palm) A foundling discarded, like many potted plants, which found a home in our garden. They grow very well with minimal care. 1.1875 (C.eliator), 13.1900/1 Rainforest Corner

Chamaedorea microspadix  Burret 1933  Bamboo Palm They are small palms, growing from 30 cm to 6 m tall with slender, cane-like stems, growing in the understorey in rainforests, and often spreading by means of underground runners, forming clonal colonies. Mexico  NW corner rainforest garden

Cyathea australis is commonly known as the Rough Tree Fern due to the presence of adventitious roots, tubercles (knobbly bits) and masses of hair-like scales on its ‘trunk’. The ‘trunk’ like structure on a tree-fern is actually a greatly enlarged rhizome! The horticultural appeal of C. australis is not only due to its beautiful looks but also because it is an extremely hardy species, even capable of tolerating direct sun when the roots are wet. It is also a robust tub plant and is unusual in that it is tolerant of salty winds. C. australis is thus a popular, cold-hardy tree-fern, adaptable to a variety of climates and soils. C. cooperi, the Lacy Tree Fern, derives this name from its delicate fronds. It is also known as the Australian Tree Fern as it is one of the most commonly grown Australian tree-ferns.

  1. cooperi is quite distinctive from C. australis in that it has a more slender trunk with distinctive “coin spots” where old fronds have broken off the trunk. C. cooperi fronds are bright green and lacy and tend to be very fast growing. NW rainforest corner

Licuala ramsayii  ‘Australian Fan Palm’ A medium sized, single stemmed palm, usually up to 15 m in height, though it can reach 25 m. The stem is normally quite straight and slender and up to 20 cm in diameter. The crown consists of large fan-shaped leaves. The leaves up to 2 meters long, with feather-like fronds. Occurs in NEQ from about Cooktown, south to about Ingham. Altitudinal range from Cape Tribulation Queensland, near sea level to 1100 m. Occurs in rainforest, swamp forest, mangroves, littoral forest and in diverse riparian and riverine habitats, on various soil types. Licuala ramsayi (F. Muell.) was first described in 1874 as Livistona ramsayi by Ferdinand von Mueller. The new species was based on a collection made by Edward Pearson Ramsay from “Rockingham’s Bay,” which was a broad location name for the area around the coastal township of Cardwell and the mountainous Cardwell Ranges hinterland. Ramsay was a self taught naturalist with a special interest in ornithology. In 1876, he was appointed the first Australian-born curator of the Australian Museum. In the original publication of L. ramsayi there is no indication of when Ramsay had made the collection at Rockingham Bay. 2 in NW Corner rainforest garden LOST

Linospadix monostachyos (Walking Stick palm) A sub-tropical rainforest understorey plant, common within its range from Taree in north eastern NSW up to Gympie in south eastern Queensland and at altitudes up to 1200m, the Walking Stick palm often grows in colonies (sometimes up to 6-8 plants per square metre) alongside the Bangalow Palm Archontophoenix cunninghamii. A slow-growing delicate palm that rarely grows taller than 2m, it has a slender single-stemmed trunk with attractive bamboo-like rings. showy spikes of cream flowers and edible red berries, Crash survivors were kept alive for nine days by eating Walking Stick Palm berries after their Stinson mail plane went down in Lamington National Park in 1937.

Livistona australis (cabbage palm) syn. Corypha australis Tall Australian fan palm with distinctive form. Often a landmark of old gardens. Introduced to Britain from Australia in 1824. Australia 1.1875 (8 species Livistona), 1A.1885, 5.1897, 7.1897 (L.humilis) Rainforest Corner

Livistona chinensis (Chinese fan palm) The Chinese Fan Palm is a beautiful solitary fan palm that will eventually reach 8 -12 meters. With lush fan shaped leaves, this is an absolutely stunning Palm that produces small cream colored flowers then large bunches of attractive blue fruit! Plants available approx 30-40cm tall! Livistona chinensis; the genus is named for the baron of Livingston. There are two subspecies; Livistona chinensis var. chinensis, China Southeast, and Vietnam. And Livistona chinensis var. subglobosa, Bermuda, Florida, Hawaii, Japan, Jawa, Marianas, Mauritius, Nansei-shoto, New Caledonia, La Réunion, and Taiwan.  Livistona chinensis was first described as Latania chinensis (Jacquin, 1801), from plants cultivated and subsequently naturalised in Mauritius and brought to Schoenbrunn Gardens, Vienna in 1788. It is lectotypified by the illustration in Jacquin (1801), Tab. 11, Fig. 1. The species name was taken from that used for the palm in Mauritius, “Latanier de la Chine”. Bretschneider (1898) provided some evidence to suggest that the naturalist and traveller Pierre Poivre was responsible for introducing the palm, during the mid 1700s, to Mauritius where it soon became naturalised. Poivre had made extensive collections of plants from southeast China and Indochina during the period 1740-1767. Martius (1838) provided the transfer to Livistona, based on Brown (1810) who suggested it should correctly have been in Livistona, but without formal transfer. For NW corner rainforest. Another orphan discarded when still a potted plant and put to use in our garden. Very slow to establish. 1A.1885  Rainforest Corner, lost 2012 replaced with 2 2017

Rhapis excelsa  broadleaf lady palm or “the lady palm” is a species of fan palm (Arecaceae subfamily Coryphoideae, tribe Corypheae)  southern China and Taiwan NW rainforest area

unidentified Palmetto Rainforest Corner

 Unidentified New Guinea Palm Rainforest Corner