Need help ID-ing a palm seed

[Cali-wanna-b]

Hello all!

My kids went to Charleston, South Carolina recently and brought back a variety of palm seeds for me. I am having trouble figuring out one type of seed they brought back. The seed looks alot like a Queen palm seed, but I am pretty sure no seed producing Queen palms grow in Charleston. Could this be a Mediterranean fan palm?

Cali

[Knnn]

Link is to the archive page at RPS, Most of the listings have pictures of the seeds as well as specimens.

http://www.rarepalmseeds.com/archive.shtml

Butia seeds are about the same size as Queens?

Good Luck!
-Steve

[PALMETTOMAN]

Cali,

Charleston is my second home...In the city itself...most of the palms are cabbage...There are more butias (pindo/jelly palms) in the city parks..because the homes are so close there tend to be more upright tall palms. If the seed is large and orangy then I would say its butia (for this time of year). Your right about the Queens.

It could be Euro fan palm (med)...

I'm bettin its pindo...

Palmettomanz6=Ajax, On

[Cali-wanna-b]

Thanks for the replys!!

My kids also brought me back some pindo seeds, some fresh with the fruit still on and some that were dried. The seeds I am talking about had a hard shell, much like a queen palm seed. I cracked open one of the shells and inside were two seeds that looked like a minature Hersey Kiss. The seeds were different then the pindo's, about hal f the size. I am still puzzled.

thanks
Cali

[Laaz]

May be Trachycarpus seeds. We have many thousands here...

[turtile]

I wouldn't doubt that Queen Palms are producing seed in SC. They have survived the last few winters in Delaware. Few have died. I don't know if any produced seed yet.

[Laaz]

We have some very large Queens here, but I haven't seen any seed yet. The nursery down the street has a double Queen that are about 20 Ft tall for sale @ $1,200. They bring these in from Florida so I doubt they are a hardy as the seed grown Queens in our area.

[Cali-wanna-b]

OK, i am going to try and post some pics.

The first pic is the seeds in question. The larger of the two seeds came from a fresh Butia fruit, flesh an all. The smaller one came from the husked shell I described as looking like a queen palm seed. I opened the "husked" seeds and there was 2-3 of these smaller seeds inside. Both seeds came from Charleston, South Carolina. i have been trying to germinate these seeds for 2 months now with no results.




The second pic is of an unidentified palm seed I got from Tampa. I was told it was a Texas Palmetto, but it doesn't look like any palmetto seed i have seen. Any ideas what it is?

[Laaz]

Your photos are not showing up. Butia seeds are about the size of a penny & have three eyes on them. They can be round to a bit oblong.

Sabal seeds are about the size of a pea with the flesh still on them. When the flesh is removed they are tiny dark brown with a shine to them.

Trachy seeds look almost like a bean seed.

[Cali-wanna-b]

That's strange, I can see the pics.

How about a cut and paste.


http://f7.yahoofs.com/users/eXzcUM305Wr ... FBJ_meM4v7

http://f7.yahoofs.com/users/eXzcUM305Wr ... FBhb6B7Ac7

[Laaz]

I don't know about anyone else, but I can not open those links either. Try using http://www.imageshack.us

[Cali-wanna-b]

If this doesn't work it's back to the drawing board. I will have my 11 year old daughter figure it out for me...lol.

[Laaz]

The first seeds look like Sabals with the flesh still on, they have a blue / purple skin when ripe. However they are not elongated like the top seed... The second looks like Butia. Butia can be very variable in looks & size

[Cali-wanna-b]

Thank you for your response Laaz.

The seeds in the first pic are actually black in color, not purple like the pic shows. The smaller seed came from what u described as a butia, three eyed and oblong. I cracked one open an inside was 2-3 of these smaller seeds. The seed above the small one came from a pindo fruit, fresh off the tree. Could it be an immature butia seed? I am familiar with sabals and feel neither are sabals.

The second pick really has me stumped. They are smooth and look nothing like the butia seeds decribed here. They also germinate rather quickly, 3 of 5 popped within a week. I am still waiting after a month and a half for them to push there first leaf.

[Laaz]

Butia (Pindo) fruit are orange when ripe not black. The old timers down here make wine & Jelly with the fruit. Pindo seed can come in all shapes, like I said I've seen them round to oblong like in your photo.

They are definitely not European fan palm seed, as they are about a eighth the size of a Sabal when the flesh is removed. Very tiny seed.

[Laaz]

Sabal seed with the flesh still on



Butia with flesh removed. Notice the difference in appearance



European Fan palm seed in bottle cap for comparison

[Laaz]

They may be Needle palm seeds. They are native to our area.

May also be Saw Palmetto also native to our area.

http://palmguide.org/images.php?family= ... us=serenoa

[Cali-wanna-b]

Laaz

You solved the first seed mystery!!!!! The Butia seed pic is exactly what I cracked open an found the smaller seed inside.

Now as for this seed from Tampa........