Ptychosperma schefferi

Ptychosperma schefferi is a slender feather palm from the lowland coastal forests of northern New Guinea, where it forms clumps of thin stems beneath the canopy. It is known in the wild from just two sites and is listed as Critically Endangered.

Its leaves carry broad, evenly spaced, deep green leaflets, the flowering branches turn reddish in bloom, and the fruits ripen black. In gardens it is widely grown and builds dense clumps of emerald foliage.

At a glance

• Native range: northern New Guinea
• Mature size: about 6 m; 4.7–7 m in cultivation
• Growth rate: quick
• Water: has come through very dry spells
• Cold hardiness: a young plant took about −2.2 °C without damage
• Indoors / outdoors: outdoors in humid tropical and warm subtropical gardens

Care

It does well on alkaline, limestone soils. Garden plants may be clustering or single-stemmed. Protect it from frost.

Why Palmpedia: Grown in our greenhouse in Almeirim, Portugal, and supplied in 15 L to 35 L pots.