Arenga caudata (Stenophylla)

Very rare species

A bizarre and very fine form of the variable Arenga caudata with extremely narrow leaflets, which is only with some difficulty identified as a palm at first sight. Thai palm enthusiast Watana Sumawong is credited with bringing this form into cultivation but the original collecting locale remains a mystery. It looks a lot like a rheophytic plant that lives along the banks of fast flowing rivers, but this is pure speculation and nobody knows for sure as it has not been seen in the wild. Seeds or plants are extremely rare in cultivation and only present in a few collections and have never again been found in the wild.