Talk:Chamaedorea elegans

Not the source of pacaya
I've deleted the language in this article about edible flowers. I think those come from the species Chamaedorea tepejilote. Indeed, the RHS page on elegans cited in the article describes its flowers as "tiny." --JohnPomeranz (talk) 11:45, 29 August 2013 (UTC)

Among the Most Widely Sold Palms
With the exception of coconut and date palms, which are sold for their "nuts and dates", the neanthebella palm is the most widely marketed palm species in the world. Part of this has to do with its extremely small size as a "baby". Indeed, garden terrariums, living floral arrangements, or just the local supermarket $5 palm are very common.

https://floridata.com/Plants/Arecaceae/Chamaedorea%20elegans/1266

Considering how ubiqutous this palm is, I'm surprised that this article has not been more developed (for example, there's nothing here on the minimum cold temperature these palms can tolerate). I'm going to work on sprucing up this article. Others are welcome to join. Ryoung 122 04:50, 21 October 2018 (UTC)

Size
In a plant pot, these palms tend to take on the size of the container given (often very small). However, planted in the ground and with favorable conditions, these palms can reach significantly larger sizes, including greater trunk width (sometimes in excess of one inch) and height (sometimes to about 14 feet). Also, some palm blogs have identified that there are "thin-trunked" varieties (lowland form) and "thick-trunked" varieties (highland form). Here is a thicker-trunked example: https://toptropicals.com/pics/garden/m1/palm/chamaedorea_elegans7369.jpg Ryoung 122 04:57, 21 October 2018 (UTC)

Actually a solitary palm
Chamaedorea elegans grows from seeds, and each seed sprouts only one trunk. What is "sold in stores" is a bunch of seedlings stuck together in a pot, in an unhealthy arrangement. The competition for light/resources generally limits the size of the plant. In cases where the plant is allowed to grow solitarily, it forms a trunk and can reach 10+ feet in height over many years. Take a look at, for example, the Palmpedia entry: https://www.palmpedia.net/wiki/Chamaedorea_elegans Ryoung 122 18:53, 5 May 2020 (UTC)

Subspecies
The article gives a source for two subspecies (elegans and angustifolia) but no description. If any has the sub-species descriptions, please notate. I did find a palm blog that noted "lowland" and "highland" varieties but didn't relate those t the subspecies.