Archontophoenix cunninghamiana Information
A solitary, tall, water-loving, fast growing, monoecious, forest emergent, crownshaft palm. Common in cultivation, locally common in the wild. It has a smooth, grey trunk, 21.3 m. (70 ft.) tall, 20.3 cm. (8 inch) diameter with spaced ring leaf scars, and large segmented, pinnate (feather) leaves, 3 m. (10 ft.) long, 1.5 m. (5 ft.) wide, green above and beneath.
The trunk is wider at the base, but usually not to the same dimensions as A. alexandrae. Lavender coloured flowers not white as is A. alexandrae.
Archontophoenix cunninghamiana can survive freezing temperatures to about -3.8°C (25°F), but freezing is best avoided. It naturally occurs in wet rainforest or seasonally wet forest in montane locations. In this type of natural environment temperature fluctuations are slight, and this palm prefers a constantly cool or mild climate with little temperature difference between day & night, and Summer & Winter. Under extreme freezing conditions we recommend you keep this palm as dry as possible, and well wrapped up.
General Information:
Coastal & near coastal rainforest. Central coastal Queensland to southeastern NSW (Illawarra), Australia. One of the cool-hardiest crownshaft palms. Our seeds are collected in Illawarra, NSW where frost and snow has been recorded at 300m but a rare event, and the Mean Min. Temp. is 1 Degrees Celsius.
Distribution:
Native to, Australia