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Cyrtostachys renda
Also called Maharajah Palm, Sealing Wax Palm, Red Sealing Wax Palm
In Singapore: Sealing Wax Palm, Lipstick Palm, Pinang Rajah, Maharajah Palm, Red Sealing Wax (Native to Singapore, Critically Endangered)
Lipstick palm is a slender, clustering, slow-growing palm from Southeast Asian swamp forests, prized for its scarlet crownshaft and leaf sheaths. It needs warmth, humidity and consistently moist, well-drained soil.
Cyrtostachys renda, also known by the common names red sealing wax palm and lipstick palm, is a palm that is native to Thailand, Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo in Indonesia. It is the only species of the genus Cyrtostachys that can be found to the west of the Wallace Line, the faunal boundary separating the biogeographic realms of Asia and Wallacea. Cyrtostachys renda's name is derived from several words: the Greek prefix κυρτό- (cyrto-) meaning bent or curved, the Greek word σταχυς (stachys) meaning "an ear of grain", and "renda" a Malayan Aboriginal word for palm, which happens to be homonymous to the Portuguese word "renda," meaning income.
Because of its bright red crownshafts and leaf sheaths, Cyrtostachys renda has become a popular ornamental plant exported to many tropical regions around the world.
The lipstick palm is generally grown for its brightly colored and unusual foliage and it is considered as a plant in high demand for gardening and a landscaping projects. Because of difficulties propagating them and their striking color, the palm has been offered for sale at prices as high as $1000 USD to collectors and gardeners. It also has some limited traditional uses such as for flooring materials, roof thatching, and for making darts in Pahang and elsewhere in Malaysia. Some rural communities in Sumatra harvest the plant for palm hearts.
Propagation can occur with fresh seeds, although they are slow to germinate, or through dividing out suckers. In the wild, the most suitable environment for growth occurs in areas of Southeast Asian lowland peat swamp forests with the following characteristics: good soil drainage, high sand content in the soil, a thin peat layer in the soil, a low carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N) in the soil, low acid, and nutrient levels in the soil and water but relatively high organic substance levels.
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cyrtostachys renda by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
