55
Cyrtostachys
renda Blume.
Synonym : Bentinckia renda (Blume) Mart.
Family
: Arecaceae
Local
Names :
Chuvanna Panna, Red palm, Lipstick Palm
Flowering
and fruiting period:
Throughout the year
Distribution: Native of Indonesia
Habitat: Grown as ornamental
palm
IUCN
status:
Data Deficient
Endemic: No
Uses: Ornamental, the hard
outer wood of the stem is used to make darts.
Key
Characters:
A clumping palm, up to 12 m tall, with characteristically bright red leaf sheaths
around the stems.. Leaves have bright red stalks and mid-ribs and are pinnate
and alternately-arranged. Each leaf consists of leaflets that are boat-shaped,
slightly grey on the underside and about 45 cm long and 4 cm wide. Crown shaft
is distinctively red in colour. Its branched flowering shoot is first green
before turning to red, with two large spathes (modified leaves). Flowers are
pollinated by bees. Its tiny one-seeded fruits are ellipsoidal in shape.