20 Interesting Facts about The Lipstick Palm Tree
The Lipstick Palm Tree is considered a rare, topical, and exotic variety of a clustering palm that is native to Australia and several areas across Southeast Asia. The Lipstick Palm Tree has recently become wildly popular and highly prized by consumers and landscape designers. However, that is not the only interesting tidbit about this gorgeous addition to any garden or landscape.
1. The scientific name for the Lipstick Palm is Cryostachys renda.
Cyrtostachys is derived from the Greek word kyrtos – which means curved. Stachys means ‘ear of grain.’ This accurately describes the Lipstick Palms curved inflorescence. Its scientific moniker renda refers to a Malayan aboriginal word for palm.
2. The Lipstick Palm is known by some as the Red Sealing Wax Palm.
Lipstick Palm’s name is derived from the fact that it has a distinctive red trunk (that can also be orange-ish) that resembles the color of traditional red wax that was used for centuries to seal letters/envelopes. Ironically, the Lipstick Palm Tree does not produce wax.
3. The Lipstick Palm is easy to care for but is tricky to grow.
Lipstick Palms are not typically the best plant choice for beginner gardeners but are simple to care for when mature. Note that this variety of palm is not terribly forgiving to windy, salty, or cold conditions. “A tropical palm, it [Lipstick Palm] needs a minimum temperature of 10C (50F), making it ideal as a houseplant.”
4. Lipstick Palm Trees are native to the island of Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, Thailand, Singapore, & Borneo.
Lipstick Palms thrive in swampy wet areas. The Lipstick Palm Tree requires copious amounts of water and highly humid conditions. They have even been known to grow in standing water, which is why it is sometimes used as pond plant. These palm varieties are not tolerant to dry soil and grow best when the soil is kept moist all the time.
5. Lipstick Palm Trees do not produce edible fruit.
In spring and summer, green flowers of the Lipstick Palm grow on the plant’s long stalks below the crown shaft. The Lipstick Palm produces both female and male flowers on the same inflorescence (which makes it one of many monoecious plants). The flowers of the Lipstick Palm blossom into shiny, tiny 1-inch-long oval-shaped fruit that blackens when ripe. Each fruit has one solitary seed, but the fruit and seeds are not edible to humans.
6. Lipstick Palm leaves can grow up to 5 feet in length.
These palm trees have pinnate (a.k.a. feather-like) leaves with about 50 pairs of slender leaflets. The leaflets on the Lipstick Palm grow to about 1.5 feet and tend to be rather stiff for leaf material. The leaves of this Palm are grey to greenish on the lower part of the plant but grow to a brighter green as they near the plant’s upper area.
7. Because the trunks clump at different heights, Lipstick Palms make a great privacy fence.
Once the slow-growing Lipstick Palm has reached full maturity (which may take several years), it is a beautiful natural dividing or privacy fence. This palm’s natural spread (which ranges between 12 and 20 feet) and its clumping trunks create dense, attractive dense vegetation.
8. Lipstick Palm Trees can grow to great heights when grown in ideal outdoor conditions.
The Lipstick Palm tends to grow on the slow to moderate side, with slender trunks adorned with white rings and crimson shafts, which is where the Lipstick Palm’s fronds emerge. When grown indoors, this variety of palm can be kept at 10 to 20 feet, but in the wild, it can grow 50 ft tall.
9. Lipstick Palm Trees have been used traditionally for a variety of home uses.
Many communities where this variety of palm natively grows have developed many functional uses for the Lipstick Palm Tree. The Lipstick Palm is used to construct roof thatching, fishing rods, and flooring materials, to name a few. In addition, the hardened outer part of the plant is used for making darts.
10. The Lipstick Palm thrives outdoors in plant hardiness zones 11 – 12.
Lipstick Palm Trees thrive best in USDA hardiness zones 11-12 but can survive in zone 10b – if the temperatures do not drop below 50 degrees. The Lipstick Palm Tree is highly sensitive to cold and will not survive frost conditions. If grown in a high heat area or windy locations, this variety of palm should be partially sitting in the shade.
11. Because the Lipstick Palm grows so slowly, they only need to be repotted once every two or three years when grown indoors or outdoors.
Lipstick palm plants do not like change, so it is best to re-pot them infrequently. Because they grow so slowly, they tend to need re-potting only every few years. Remember to keep younger Lipstick Palms out of the direct sunlight, although older plants flourish in good sunshine.
12. The Lipstick Palm Tree is among the top three tree palm varieties being cultivated in Singapore.
Lipstick Palms’ preference as ornamental elementals in homes and gardens has grown to new heights of global popularity. As such, it is ranked among the top three types of palm trees cultivated in Singapore.
13. The tip of the Lipstick Palm Tree’s stem is eaten in Sumatra.
Many communities where this variety of palm grows have found many functional uses for the plant. The stem of the plant can be served as delicious palm hearts.
14. In 1999, laws were passed to protect the Lipstick Palm Tree.
Lipstick Palms were previously listed as vulnerable to being endangered from 1995 to 2000 due to over-harvesting and climate change. However, Indonesia proactively passed laws to protect the plant from harvesting in 1999.
15. In the year 2000, the IUCN removed the Lipstick Palm from its list of protected plants.
The IUCN (which refers to the International Union for Conservation of Nature), after new laws were passed, removed Lipstick Palm Trees from its protected plant list. However, it is noted that in 2022, the BBC revealed that more than half of the globe’s palm trees (and there are more than 2,500 varieties in total) are in danger.
16. When planted in an outdoor environment, the Lipstick Palm should be close to a water source.
The Lipstick Palm requires consistently moist soil. This type of palm variety can even tolerate standing water for a short while. In addition, this palm variety thrives in high humid conditions as that is its natural habitat.
17. The seeds of the Lipstick Palm Tree take a notoriously long time to germinate.
Lipstick Palms are not typically the best choice for beginner gardeners as they are challenging to grow from seeds. Growing Lipstick Palms in this way is notoriously long and challenging. Seeds can take two to three months to germinate, and new plants might take several years to reach just a foot tall. Those who wish wishing to grow this plant would be better off growing it by replanting suckers.
18. The flowers of the Lipstick Palm are pollinated by insects.
The ripened fruit of the Lipstick Palm Tree is enjoyed by birds. This palm variety is recognized to be the host plant for the Parasa lepida (nettle caterpillar) – a species of moths.
19. Palm Trees, like the Lipstick Palm, have been found by archeologists from ancient Mesopotamia times.
Mesopotamia, which is historically the area of Western Asia, traces human activity and development back thousands of years. Palm trees are also referenced throughout several bibles as they have relevant religious associations in many cultures.
20. The Lipstick Palm and all other palm varieties are members of the Evergreen group of plants.
Although a bit surprising, the Lipstick Palm Tree is a member of the Evergreen group, which means these palms do not lose or shed their leaves during any specific season. In other words, their foliage remains intact and green all year.
In what types of environments in Australia and Southeast Asia does the Lipstick Palm grow?
This type of palm’s native habitat includes riverbanks, rain forests, coastal tidal areas, freshwater swamp forests, shorelines, and other peat-swampy wetlands.
What are the other names for the Lipstick Palm?
This unique and beautiful palm tree is also known by these alternate names, which primarily refer to the plant’s colorful crown shafts – Rajah Palm, Maharaja Palm, Lakka Palm, Sumatra Wax palm, and Pinang Rajah.
