This denizen of our Upper Rainforest walk can be found about 350 yards from the end of the pavement. It's name is Pinanga coronata, or Ivory Cane Palm. Native to Indonesia, it is a clumping palm and likes to grow in a shaded location rather than in full sun.

It's leaf bases (comprising the crown shaft) are creamy/ivory white, and its stem is an emerald green. What really catches the eye about this palm is its infructescence, especially the almost fluorescent magenta of the branchlets. The immature fruits are green initially, then turn white, and finally, when ripe they turn black.

Another striking feature of the infructescence is the uniformity of fruit production and its opposite arrangement along the whole length of the branchlets of the infructescence. The close-up of the infructescences illustrates this beautiful and interesting natural design.

Aloha from your Garden Director, Lanny Neel, and his crew!