I've had my dwarf palm for about 2 years and the past few months its started getting a strange growth type thing on it. I'm not sure if its normal or not.
That's what I thought too, but they don't bloom...the little nodule things don't get any bigger than that, the growths just die. On the second picture, you can see at the lower right one of them just died. If they are flowers, how can I get them to bloom? What am I doing wrong?
-This palm species is dioecious (oops, see the plants sex short story), with male and female individuals. It is therefore really in need of an efficient pollen transport and pollination service, for it cannot self. It also has a highly specialist pollinator: a weevil called Derelomus chamaeropsis. Just like in any good mutualism (that is, when two species become evolutionarily so intertwined that both need and benefit from each other), these two species have a very intimate relationship: the weevil seems to be the most efficient pollinator of the palm. In return, the palm provide the weevil with food, shelter and even some place to lay eggs and have larvae to develop. Larvae grow up in the rachises of the male plam inflorescences. Of course, they leave the plant after emergence, without forgetting a welcome load of pollen grains. Some of the newly emerged weevils will visit a female plant next. So far, so good. But let’s go back to the palm again. Flowers and inflorescences have some scent. But they are protected under firm bracts, and hidden around the leaves. Not the best way to have any delicious and attractive smell sent far away. Even if the inflorescence produce hundreds of flowers (see picture above). This is indeed a serious pittfall to long distance attraction of weevils, but what do you want? http://seedsaside.wordpress.com/2007/11/15/when-leaves-aspire-to-be-flowers/
The title of this thread led me to all kinds of giggles. I am rather disappointed as to the actual content now.
