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Cyrtostachys renda Blume.
Synonym : Bentinckia renda (Blume) Mart.
Family
: Arecaceae
Local
Names :
Chuvanna Panna, Red palm, Lipstick Palm
Flowering and fruiting period: Throughout the year
Distribution: Native of Indonesia
Habitat: Grown as ornamental palm
IUCN status: Data Deficient
Endemic: No
Uses: Ornamental, the hard outer wood
of the stem is used to make darts.
Key Characters: A clumping palm, up to 12 m
tall, with characteristically bright red leaf sheaths around the stems. Leaves
have bright red stalks and mid-ribs and are pinnate and alternately-arranged.
Each leaf consists of leaflets that are boat-shaped, slightly grey on the
underside and about 45 cm long and 4 cm wide. Crown shaft is distinctively red
in colour. Its branched flowering shoot is first green before turning to red,
with two large spathes (modified leaves). Flowers are pollinated by bees. Its
tiny one-seeded fruits are ellipsoidal in shape.
