As promised, I took some pictures of the seeds I received yesterday (read Day Zero – Hurray, I Finally Got the Seeds I Ordered on the Net… for those who have not yet done so).

The first set of pictures is for the palm trees of the genus Archontophoenix.

I ordered and received seeds from three of the six existing species:

• Archontophoenix alexandrae
• Archontophoenix cunninghamiana
• Archontophoenix maxima
• Archontophoenix myolensis
• Archontophoenix purpurea
• Archontophoenix tuckeri

Here are some informations collected on the palms of this genus:

Species of the genus Archontophoenix all have some common features.

• The stem (trunk) is unique (no tufted growth), rather thin, smooth, long (over 20 meters) and light gray. The rings on the trunk are due to leaves that leave scars arranged in a regular manner.
• The leaves are pinnate and dark green color.
• The “crownshaft” is rather long and slender light green to dark.
• The inflorescences are short, branched, pink or red and grow right under the crownshaft.
• The fruits are red and oval or round with an average diameter of 10 to 50mm.

The Archontophoenix are native to Australia (East Coast) and grow up to 800 meters. They are now widely cultivated throughout the world including Hawaii.

The growth of palm trees of this kind apparently requires a tropical or subtropical climate.

Photos of the seeds (and adult palms):

Archontophoenix alexandrae

Archontophoenix cunninghamiana

Archontophoenix maxima

The least we can say is that the seeds (although they look pretty similar) vary in size and color.

Note on the freshness of the seeds:

I recently read that fresh palm seeds are crucial to the success of germination. One way of ensuring this is to immerse the seeds in a warm water bath for 24 to 48 hours. The seeds that are found at the bottom are supposed to be the freshest. Those that float are less likely to germinate.

What is certain is that fresh or not I will try to get them to germinate.

Germination and growth of the Archontophoenix palms:

By doing some research, I often came across comments on Archontophoenix alexandrae (king palm) seed germination. Nothing, however, the two cousins.
Germination is generally described as easy and the king palm is supposed to be fast growing … for a palm tree.

To date, I have not found any scientific info and data on the germination and growth of this kind, but I do not despair.