Characteristics and description of the plant, agricultural technology for growing geonome, do-it-yourself palm propagation, diseases and pests, interesting facts, species. The palm family is very diverse and no one is surprised by these "tropical green inhabitants" of the planet that grow in our rooms. They delight their owners with beautiful feathery leaves, and especially in our area, where you cannot see greenery from November until April and even sometimes until May days, you can admire the rich green flowers that are painted on the leaves. Today we will talk about such an uncommon species of the Palm family (Arecaceae), as Geonoma (Geonoma).
This genus includes up to 75 varieties of palm flowering plants. The native habitat of these flora representatives revere the territories of tropical South America, such as the lands of Brazil, Peru, Bolivia and the West Indies. There are two varieties found in Mexico and Haiti.
For the first time, the types of geonomy were described by Karl Ludwig Wildenov, who lived in 1765-1812. He studied botany, pharmaceuticals and carried out work on the systematization of plants. Also, this scientist was the founder of phytogeography and he studied the geographical distribution of samples of the flora of the planet. He is also considered the teacher of the famous phytogeographer, meteorologist, botanist and encyclopedic scientist from Germany Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859).
The geonoma bears its name due to the Greek translation of the word "to move" - "kivnon", probably emphasizing the property of the species to group in small plantings. But the people go by the following name - "ringed palm", most likely this reflects the structure of the leaf plates and their tops.
Geonoma is a tropical plant, small to medium-sized palm trees that like to grow in the undergrowth of lowland and mountain forests, choosing wet and shady places. The trunk height of this undersized palm tree rarely exceeds 5 meters. She can have one or several, ringed and they grow, resembling bamboo, in some varieties, arranged in the form of a bush. Their surface is smooth, with a brown tint. At the top of the trunk there is a formation that resembles a rosette of leaves, which have long petioles measuring 30 cm. The number of such leaves varies in the aisles from 6 to 35 units.
The leaf plates are paired or unpaired, and the length of the leaf parts can reach 30 cm with a width of up to 2 cm. The color is beautiful, rich green tone. Often, leaf fronds have an arcuate bend, and the top of the upper leaf lobe is divided into two parts.
Flowering can take place from March to February. The buds are mostly unisexual and groups of male and female flowers are collected from them. The bud has three petals and the same number of sepals, the color is whitish. The inflorescence originates in the leaf axils and is usually branched.
The fruits are small in size, elongated or round in shape. The color can be green or blue, but when ripe, the color changes to black. Length up to 7 cm with a diameter of 6 cm.
Geonome is grown in home greenhouses and office buildings. If the plant will be cultivated in a residential building, then the most spacious room with good air circulation is chosen for it. Next to it, when creating phytocompositions, ampelous crops, miniature trees, curly flowering vines will look good.
Recommendations for the care of geonomia, watering and maintenance
- Lighting. A pot with a palm tree place shadows or partial shades so that the light is sufficient, but diffused. Sills of windows "looking" to the southeast or southwest, rarely to the north, will do.
- Air humidity. The difference between this representative of palm trees and their “fellows” is that they absolutely cannot stand spraying. Otherwise, the leaves will begin to dry out rapidly. Instead, wipe the dust with a soft dry cloth or brush. When it rains on a summer day and the humidity in the room is high, you can wipe the foliage with a damp, squeezed sponge.
- Content temperature. In the spring-summer period, heat indicators should not go beyond 21-24 degrees, and with the arrival of autumn, they are maintained at a level of 16. Drafts are extremely harmful.
- Watering. During the summer months, humidification should be abundant, while the water in the pot holder can stay for a whole day. In winter, they moisten when the soil is slightly dry on top, the moisture in the stand is drained. The water should be warm and soft.
- Fertilizers for the "ringed palm" is applied from the beginning of the spring months to November. Supplements for palm plants are used. In winter, the plant does not need to be fertilized. The frequency of dressing is once every 2-3 weeks. Geonoma also responds well to organic matter.
- Palm transplant and soil selection. After a young geonoma is planted for constant cultivation, a new change of the pot and substrate is carried out no earlier than in 2-3 years, and even less often with age - once every 4-5 years. Drain holes should be drilled in the new pot so that excess moisture does not stagnate. A drainage layer is laid on the bottom. When transplanting, a transshipment method is used so that the roots are not injured.
For a young man, you can make up a soil mixture based on sod soil, compost mixed with peat soil and river sand in proportions of 2: 1: 1: 0, 5. When the geonoma is already an adult, the ratio changes by 2: 2: 1: 0, 5.
Tips for self-propagation of the "ringed palm"
It is possible to get a new geonome by planting its seed material. Before planting, the seeds will need to be soaked in warm water for 1-2 days. Then they will need to be slightly buried in a moistened sandy-peat substrate (no deeper than 1 cm), which is poured into a small container. The soil can be mixed with crushed charcoal for decontamination. The container is covered with a piece of glass and placed in a warm place with diffused light. The germination temperature should not go beyond 24-28 degrees. It is recommended to carry out regular ventilation and, if necessary, you will have to spray the soil with a fine spray gun.
The first shoots will have to wait long enough. Florists note that they can appear at 8 weeks from planting or even after 9 months. But if sprouts have appeared, then you will have to wait until a couple of real leaves appear on them and you can carry out the first transplant into separate pots with a diameter of no more than 7 cm. The soil is taken the same.
Diseases and pests of geonomy
Most often, the "ringed palm" can comprehend all the troubles inherent in plants from this family:
- Root rot occurs with frequent waterlogging of the substrate. In this case, the leaves turn yellow, then become dark and the plant dies. This can also be facilitated by abundant watering in case of temperature extremes or a lack of minerals. The soil is treated with a fungicide.
- Stem rot occurs in cases of abundant and frequent soil moisture and high moisture levels. On the leaf lobes, wet spots become visible or they are gray with a whitish bloom. This light pubescence is a consequence of the sporulation of the fungus. They are treated with a fungicide and transplanted into new soil.
- With penicillosis of palms, young leaves on the tops of the stems most often deteriorate (they are deformed) and the geonoma weakens. They are covered with necrotic spotting, growing in size. It is necessary to align the temperature and light conditions.
- For spotting of leaf plates, which is caused by fungi and bacteria, you should also treat the plant with a fungicide every two weeks and lower the humidity in the room.
- When flooding, a sharp drop in temperature or moistening with hard water, the leaves of a palm tree turn brown.
- When the leaves from the bottom of the trunk darken and fly around, this is a consequence of natural aging.
- The tips of the leaf wai become dried out when the humidity is low, there is not enough moisture for the plant, or the thermometer readings have dropped.
- If a round spot with a brown halo appears on the leaves, then a sunburn has occurred.
- With a decrease in humidity, the geonoma can be affected by a spider mite, while the color of the leaves turns pale. The foliage is wiped with soapy water and then treated with insecticides.
Interesting facts about geonome
Most often in places of natural growth of geonomy, it is used to make home furnishings: weaving mats and other utensils. The fruit of the Schott species can be used as food for fish. With the help of Geonoma Bakulifera sheet plates, local residents cover the roof of their huts. The same happens with the leaf fronds of the calyptroginoid Geonoma variety - their surface is very hard and durable and therefore is the best suited as a material for roofing. But this variety is called "Sawgrass" in local jargon, since the leaves have petioles, the edges of which are quite sharp and when they are collected, injuries (cuts) often occur.
Types of geonomy
- Geonoma stemless (Geonoma acaulis) is a stemless plant, leaf plates are pinnate and they are located in a bunch that resembles a rosette. The leaf has a long petiole, the length of which can reach 50 cm and is divided into 12 leaves, placed in pairs. Moreover, from below, they reach a smaller width than above.
- Geonoma elegant (Geonoma elegans) this palm has a tubular trunk with a length of 2–3 m. The leaves have feathery outlines and an elongated silhouette. Each of them is divided into shares, the number of which varies from 3 to 7 pairs. In width, the leaf parts differ from each other, most often those that are at the top are divided in half.
- Geonoma thin (Geonoma gracilis) has a thin trunk and is covered with mottling. The sheet plates have an arched shape and reach meters in length. They are made up of smaller leaf parts, which rarely exceed 30 cm in length and 2 cm in width.
- Geonoma congesta (Geonoma congesta). The native habitat is in tropical America. It is a multi-stemmed palm tree with a bush outline approaching 5 m. The growth rate is high. The trunk is small in diameter; on its surface, scars from flying leaves are visible. The leaves are decorative, their shape is unevenly pinnate. They are measured along the length of one and a half meters, they are from 1 to 10 pairs of leaf lobes, the width of which is not uniform, the length is within 60 cm. At the top of the end leaf there is a bifurcation. The buds are unisexual, from which paniculate inflorescences are collected. The fruits are ovoid and dark purple to almost black in color; they reach only 1–1.5 cm in length. The seeds in the fruit are usually a couple.
- Geonoma Schottiana. Palm trees are small in size, rarely exceeding 3 meters in height. Most often, they are group aggregations in dense forests. Leaf fronds are bent in the form of an arc and are composed of leafy parts, the number of which varies within 30–35 pairs. Their shape is evenly feathery. These leaves rarely exceed 30 cm in length and up to 1 cm in width. The flowers are small in size and whitish petals, gathering in branched or unbranched inflorescences. They are pollinated by multiple insects: flies, bees and various bugs. The fruits ripen in purple color and are located on the stalks of a bright red hue, which serve to attract birds.
- Geonoma paniculate (Geonoma paniculigera). It has leaves (fronds) with arched shapes. Their separated leaves reach only 1–2 cm in width and slightly droop to the soil, with a length of 35 cm.
- Geonoma Shimann (Geonoma Seemannii). Also, like the previous species, leaf fronds have arcuate contours, their color is olive-greenish, and they are bipartite in shape. The petioles have brown pubescence along the entire length.
- Geonoma murin (Geonoma mooreana). This surprisingly small palm tree is native to tropical forests that mainly cover the Atlantic Ocean in western Panama. These plants can be found at an altitude of 100–1200 m above sea level. Stems are thin outlines, leaf plates are very beautiful, flat, with a slight bend, finely pinnate with narrow leaf lobes. While the leaf is young, it is painted in a delicate pinkish tint. Inflorescences, highly branched, and painted in a red color. They bear a small round fruit, which, when fully ripe, drenches in a black tone. This variety is practically unknown in culture, but it is highly decorative. In a garden, it is grown in a well-sheltered place in a tropical or warm temperate climate.
- Geonoma baculifera (Geonoma baculifera). Palm, reaching a height of 2, 3 meters, and the stems are up to 1, 6 m in height with a diameter of 1, 3–2, 3 cm. Leaf plates grow in the crown of 6–11 units, they are divided and unevenly pinnate. The length of the leaf lobes grows up to 30 cm. The surface is not folded. The petiole can reach from 6 to 30 cm in length, its color is green or yellowish. Branched inflorescences of 1–2 orders of magnitude. When ripe, the fruits reach 8-13 cm in length with a diameter of up to 7, 8 cm.
- Geonoma brenesii. The plant is not very tall, and its parameters rarely go beyond the boundaries of 0.5–1 meters. Stems can grow up to 0, 2–0, 4 m in height with a diameter of up to 1, 2 cm. They are located singly, in the likeness of reed plants. The leaf plates in the crown are 8–11 units. Their leaf divisions are 6-10 cm in length, petioles are measured up to 31.8 cm in length. The color is greenish or yellow. Inflorescences are not branched. The fruits reach a length of no more than 7, 3 cm with a diameter of up to 6 cm.
- Geonoma brevispatha. This palm tree can reach a height of 5 meters, it is most often found in wetlands, settling along the banks of rivers, streams and marshes. In diameter, its stems reach only 2.5 cm. The native habitat is in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru and Paraguay - that is, high-mountain plateaus in the lands of southern and central Brazil and neighboring countries. Usually, the height at which this palm can be found is 1600 meters above sea level. Likes to grow in humid forests. Each stem is topped with a leaf rosette. Its outline is compact and it consists of finely feathery leaf plates. The flowers have a purple petal color and a strong aroma. The fruits are reddish in color and have a round shape.
- Geonoma calyptrogynoidea (Geonoma calyptrogynoidea). The height of the stem of this variety reaches about 3.4 meters, and the stems themselves, in terms of parameters, approach 2.9 cm in height with a diameter of up to 2 cm. They can grow both singly and in groups. The distance between the nodes is approximately 2.9 cm in length, the surface is yellowish and smooth. The rosette at the top of the stem contains up to 12 leaves. They are pinnate, with a nasty surface, divided into leaf lobes. Measurements of the lobes in length reach 30.5 cm. At the leaves, the petioles grow no more than 35.5 cm in length. Inflorescences of the 1st order, branched. Fruits are 11-15 cm long and 10 cm in diameter.
