Cryosophila williamsii

Synonymy:

C. albida

Common Names:

Rootspine Palm

Figure 1. Cryosophila williamsii

Habitat:

Open forest of central America. Usually in limestone areas.

Description:

A medium sized fan palm, with very distinctive "spines" (actually roots) coming from the lower trunk. The undersides of the leaves are silvery in colour.

General:

A very attractive palm which should be grown more often

Culture:

Moist, well drained, semi-shaded area in the tropics/sub-tropics. Since they come from limestone areas, they like an alkaline soil.

Figure 2. C. williamsii in Paradeniya.

Figure 3. C. williamsii inflorescence.

Contributed by:

Rolf Kyburz,
(Figure 1)
Christopher King (Figure 2&3)

External Links:

Kew, PalmWeb, IUCN, JSTOR, Trebrown

Google, GoogleImages, Flickr, PalmTalk