Sealing-Wax Palm

Description

Cyrtostachys renda, also known by the common names red sealing wax palm and lipstick palm, is a palm that is native to Thailand, Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo in Indonesia. It is the only species of the genus Cyrtostachys that can be found to the west of the Wallace Line, the faunal boundary separating the biogeographic realms of Asia and Wallacea. Cyrtostachys renda's name is derived from several words: the Greek prefix - (cyrto-) meaning bent or curved, the Greek word (stachys) meaning "an ear of grain", and "renda" a Malayan Aboriginal word for palm, which happens to be homonymous to the Portuguese word "renda," meaning income. Also known as the red palm, rajah palm, and Malay: pinang rajah, Cyrtostachys renda is a slender multi-stemmed, slow-growing, clustering palm tree. It can grow to 16 metres (52 feet) tall. It has a scarlet to bright red colored crownshaft and leaf sheath, making it distinct from all other species of Arecaceae. The plant's stipe grows up to 10 centimetres (3.9 inches) in diameter. Its petioles grow up to 15 centimetres (5.9 inches) long and have pinnate leaves have about 50 pairs of pinnae. The plant's fruits are ovoid, 1.4 centimetres (0.55 inches) in diameter, green, turning to a dark bluish-black when ripe.