Atherton palm, Mountain mist palm, Atherton mist palm
Laccospadix australasicus

Family: Arecaceae

What it is like

A small palm. Plants grow to about 3-8 m high. The trunk is slender. It is about 5 cm across. It can have one or several stems. The clumping type occurs at higher altitude. The trunk is covered with old leaf bases or sometimes with close rings. The crown has few leaves. The leaves are feather like. The leaves arch over and are dark glossy-green. They are 1.5-2 m long. New leaves are bronze or red. The leaf bases spread near the trunk but do not form a crown-shaft. The blades have a number of narrow leaflets. These taper to a point. They are evenly spaced along the midrib. The leaflets are dull green. The fruit occur in long slender strings. These are unbranched and arise from the axils of leaves within the crown. The flowers are separately male and female with one female between 2 male flowers. The fruit are yellow and ripen to bright red. They are 15 mm long. They have a fleshy outer layer.

There is only one Laccospadix species.

Where it is found

It grows in rainforest. It suits humid locations. It suits subtropical and warm temperate locations. It requires shady positions. It prefers loamy soil rich in organic matter. They can tolerate light to medium frosts. In NE Queensland in Australia they grow between 800-1600 m altitude. Adelaide Botanical Gardens.

Countries/locations it is found in

Australia (country/location of origin), South Africa, Southern Africa

How it is used for food

Edible parts

Fruit, leaves

How it is grown

It is grown from seed. The seed germinate easily. This takes 3-5 months. Seedlings transplant very easily. It can also be grown from suckers which split off easily.

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Calyptrocalyx australasicus (H.Wendl. & Drude) Hook.f.; Calyptrocalyx laccospadix F. M. Bailey; Ptychosperma laccospadix Benth.;