English/ Common name- Red sealing wax palm and lipstick palm
Botanical name- Cyrtostachys renda
Appearance- Cyrtostachys renda is a slow-growing tropical palm with a thin, bright green trunk adorned with white rings and a long glossy, crimson crownshaft resembling a tube of lipstick. It develops a brilliantly red trunk. The leaf stalks are of a bright scarlet red, the color of red sealing wax, which is where the palm gets its common name. Height: It can grow to 16 metres (52 feet) tall.
Origin- Native to Thailand, Malaysia, Sumatra, and Borneo in Indonesia.
Conditions required for growth- This species' natural environment is the moist, peat swamp forests of the tropics so it prefers a rich, loamy soil that is kept moist, sheltered from winds, humid, full sun to part shade position. It is both intolerant of temperatures that fall below about 15 degrees Celsius (this is usually fatal) and of very dry conditions (where it will quickly wither and die). It will handle water-logged conditions. This palm is strictly limited to the warm tropics.
Uses- This palm has limited traditional uses; stems are used for flooring and leaves for thatching. It is suitable for parks, gardens. It is, however, a highly desirable and widely cultivated ornamental for tropical regions.
