This species native to south Florida, the West Indies, Mexico, and Central America growing wild in swamps and hammocks easily adapts to regular moist well-drained soils in landscapes. It has the habit of being clump forming with thick foliage even down low. It bears small greenish flowers on long, branches, drooping clusters about 4 to 6 feet long that develop the 0.3 inch wide fruit that starts orange-red and turns black when ripe. It is commonly planted in southern and into central Florida.

Reply to this comment

Paurotis Palm is a slow growing fan-type palm that can attain heights to 25 feet and spread of 15 feet. This palm is clump forming and bears multiple suckers at the base, which if preferred can be pruned to prevent additional trunks. The 2 foot to 3 foot fronds are green above with a silvery reverse and are borne on orange-green spiny petioles. Flowers are small, yellow to creamy white, and appear on erect spikes; they are quite showy from a distance! Fruit of the Paurotis Palm appears in the fall as a fleshy black drupe on bright orange stems. This Palm prefers a lot of water, so it does very well in wet soils and along the edges of ponds and lakes. With its sharp, hooked leaf stalks, it makes an almost impenetrable security hedge.

Reply to this comment