Walking stick palm
Linospadix microcaryus

Family: Arecaceae

What it is like

A clumping palm up to 2 m high. The stem are very slender. The leaves are compound and alternate. They are 40-60 cm long. There are 4-12 leaflets and these are 10-25 cm long. The leaflets are in pairs and well spaced and irregular shaped. The fruit is 7-8 mm long by 5-8 mm wide. The fruit are pink to red when ripe. They occur on spikes which are 30-40 cm long. These hang as long strings from the axils of the leaves. There is one seed inside. The flesh of the fruit is edible.

There are 7-11 Linospadix species.

Where it is found

Tropical. It grows naturally in rainforest in NE Queensland in Australia. It grows in the understorey. It needs a protected shady position. In north Queensland it grows between sea level and 1600 m altitude.

Countries/locations it is found in

Australia (country/location of origin)

How it is used for food

Edible parts

Fruit

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seed. Seed germinate in 4-6 months. Plants can also be grown from suckers.

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Bacularia microcarya Domin; Bacularia sessilifolia Becc.; Bacularia sessilifolia va. multisecta Becc. ex Martelli; Linospadix microcaryus var. multisecta (Becc.) Burret; Linospadix sessilifolius (Becc.) R. W. Johnson;