Livistona benthamii 'Golden'

This is the form of Livistona benthamii offered as 'Golden'. The species is a tall fan palm of the monsoonal lowlands either side of Torres Strait, in northern Australia and southern New Guinea, where it grows in swamp forest, along slow streams and at the landward edge of mangroves.

It has a densely rounded crown of 30–50 glossy, thin-textured leaves with drooping segment tips, and long petiole stubs clothe the lower trunk. The notes below describe the species.

At a glance

• Native range: Northern Territory, Queensland and southern New Guinea
• Mature size: 7.6–18 m
• Water: abundant; thrives in permanently wet or waterlogged soil
• Cold hardiness: frost-tender; needs a frost-free site
• Indoors / outdoors: outdoors in frost-free climates; elsewhere under glass

Care

Water it abundantly; it does well in wet, even waterlogged ground and copes with brackish groundwater and exposed coastal sites, but does not tolerate drought in sandy soil. In Mediterranean climates it is hard to grow outdoors, so give it winter protection. The leaf stalks carry hooked black teeth.

Why Palmpedia: Every plant is grown in our greenhouse in Almeirim, Portugal, and leaves us in a 15 L to 35 L pot.