Palm-tree, to c. 20 m high, trunk single, erect, stout, to 1 m diam. or more. Leaves spreading, to c. 6 m long, 50 cm wide, broadest in the middle one-third, petiole very short; pinnae stiff, deeply channelled, to c. 40 cm long, 3 cm wide (when flattened), basal pinnae short, thick and extremely sharp-pointed. Panicle to c. 80 cm long or more; flowers yellowish; perianth segments obtuse, inner and outer whorls subequal, 4–5 mm long. Fruit ellipsoid, yellow to reddish, 1.5–2.3 cm long, fleshy layer rather thin.
MuM, Wim, VVP, VRiv, RobP, MuF, GipP, OtP, Gold, NIS, HSF, Strz. Not recorded as naturalised in other States. Native to the Canary Islands. Widely cultivated as an ornamental. Naturalized beside the Goulburn River at Mooroopna and likely established in similar riparian sites in northern Victoria. Commonly spreading from nearby trees in suburban Melbourne.
Source:
Conn, B.J.; Walsh, N.G. (1994). Arecaceae. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., Flora of Victoria Vol. 2, Ferns and Allied Plants, Conifers and Monocotyledons, pp. 165–167. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
