Sabinaria magnifica - Butterfly Palm - 20-25 cm plant

Certainly the most exciting and baffling discovery in palms since Tahina spectabilis, Sabinaria magnifica is nothing short of absolutely spectacular and doubtlessly one of the world's most amazing ornamental palms. Its trademarks are a short, straight trunk to 6 m tall that holds an enormous crown of big, stiff, circular, glossy green leaves with a deep central division and pure, bright, silvery white undersides on very long stalks. The short infructescence holds a relatively small number of large fruits that are densely clustered and angled and turn yellow when ripe while remaining clothed in the woven inflorescence bracts. The fruit layer is rather thin and hard. The palm has been discovered and described only in 2013 by a team of Colombian botanists including Gloria Galeano and Rodrigo Bernal, in the densely rainforested border area between Colombia and Panama. Acquiring seeds involved dogged persistence and numerous, strenuous trips by our collectors into this rather dangerous border region. We are extremely proud to have been the first ones to introduce this palm to cultivation. It does well in any humid, tropical climate, protected by at least some tall canopy. Seedlings have proven to be robust, adaptable and strong growing in cultivation.