Photo Courtesy: Marty Strenges

Maya Palm

Gaussia maya (O. F. Cook) H. J. Quero

GOUSE-ee-ah  MY-ah

Arecaceae

Explanation of name: According to RI2, generic name honors Karl Gauss, German mathematician and physicist. Specific epithet refers to the Mayan region which is home to the palm.

Synonym: Opsiandra maya O. F. Cook. J. Wash. Acad. Sci. 13: 182. 1923.

Natural range: Mesoamerica (JON)  Scrublands and limestone outcrops (RI2)

Recognition: Single-trunked, thin-trunked, pinnate-leaved palm, often with the trunk curved and bearing raised white rings, and with the base broadened. Crownshaft short and not always well formed (MEE). Leaves plumose with the narrow leaflets in clumps arranged variably, usually in more than two planes, sometimes surrounding the leaf stalk. Several inflorescences open simultaneously from leaf scars (RI2), producing successive crops of red irritating fruits over a long period (JON). Authors are divided on claims of drought tolerance vs. a need for continuously moist soil.

Landscape uses: Untidy, feather-topped, skinny-trunked specimen palm for a shaded, moist setting, becoming increasingly sun-tolerant with age (PAL). May topple in high winds (MEE). Used in Orlando (RI2). ELL lists 2-3 months for germination. Not widely available