Types of Palm Tree Species With Red Stems

Lipstick Palm

• Native to the lowland swamps in the rainforests across Indonesia, the lipstick palm (Cyrtostachys renda) displays stems of intense blood- or cherry-red color. A clustering palm needing much soil moisture and heat, lipstick palm grows slowly. In the wild, it reaches up to 60 feet tall. In garden, cultivation is in the 15 to 30 foot range and in a clump about 15 to 20 feet wide. The feathery fronds display green leaflets, but the frond stems range in color from reddish orange to scarlet. The crownshaft, the growing area where fronds arise, also displays this red coloration.

Orange Crownshaft Palm

• The orange crownshaft palm (Areca vestiaria) is native to the lowland rainforests of Indonesia. This palm grows as a cluster or single-trunked palm. Feathery, green leaflets line each frond. The frond stem base and crownshaft blushes an attractive golden orange. However, a maroon-leaved form of orange crownshaft palm exists. It differs in producing reddish fronds when first emerging and the leaf stems and crownshaft look much deeper orange-red. This palm species matures up to 20 feet tall and 15 feet wide if grown as a clump of multiple stems.

Sari Palm

• The sari palm (Dypsis rivularis) displays a stem trunk with salmon-red to pinkish-red color. The feathery leaves and stems are green, but the trunk's lower parts display reddish tones. Native to riverbanks in northwestern Madagascar, sari palms with a trunk less than 8 feet tall produce the most intense red coloration. Once trees age and attain a mature height of 15 tall, the red trunk stem fades and remains olive green.

Basselina Palms

• Three species of slow-growing palms of the genus Basselina produce crownshafts and lower leaf stems with reddish color. Native to New Caledonia and not well known to tropical plant enthusiasts in the United States, basselina palms display stem trunk stripes, smears and blushes of red and other colors. The feathery leaf fronds are green on all three species, but emanate from colored crownshafts. The Basselina deplanchei crownshaft combines stripes of red and orange with hints of purple. A deep-coral to blood-red crownshaft develops on species Basselina porphyrea. Basselina gracilis also displays a colorful crownshaft, but it varies among shades of pink, orange, red, purple and black.