Cyrtostachys renda (Red Sealing Wax Palm)


  • TropPlant Accession Number (TPAN): 0051
  • Botanical Name: Cyrtostachys renda
  • Common Name: Red Sealing Wax Palm, Lipstick Palm, Rajah Palm, Mark Dang (Thai Name), Pinang Rajah (Malay Name)
  • Cultivar: N/A
  • Family: Arecaceae 
Cyrtostachys renda in front of Hawaii Hall at the University of Hawaii Manoa
Photo by Matthew Gaston

  • Native To: Southern Thailand, Malaysia, Sumatra, and Borneo

Landscaping Information

    • Plant Type: Palm
    • Texture: Dense
    • Form: Upright-Narrow
    • Height (on average, in landscape use): 10'- 45' (usually seen on the smaller end because if its slow growing rate)
    • Height to Spread Ratio: 3:1
    • Growth Rate: Slow
    • Landscape Values: Accent, Background, Border, Color, Edging, Facer, Filler, Foundation, Framing, Mass, Patio, Quick Effect, Screen, Sculptural Form, Space Division, Specimen
    • Outstanding Quality: Foliage Color, Form/Silhouette, Foliage Characters, Bark
    Cyrtostachys renda near drainage of a shade house
    Photo by Matthew Gaston

    Botanical Descriptions

    • Flowers: Inconspicuous, tiny white flowers on an inflorescence spike.
    • Fruits: Small Ovoid, 0.25"-0.5" diameter, green to blackish blue when ripe.
    • Foliage Color: Young/immature: Light Green. Mature: Bright Medium Green to Dark Green with Red.
    • Leaflet Tip: Acute
    • Leaflet Base: Acute
    • Petiole: 5"-6" long, vibrant red
    • Stipules: N/A
    • Leaflet Margins: Smooth
    • Leaf Arrangement: Alternate
    • Leaflet Shape: Linear
    • Leaf Type: Pinnate Frond with up to 50 leaflets
    • Leaf Texture: smooth, glabrous, slightly waxy
    • Leaf Special Notes: Astonishing red colored leaf base, petiole, and mid-rib. 
    Cyrtostachys renda 
    Photo by Matthew Gaston

    Cyrtostachys renda 
    Photo by Matthew Gaston

    • Bark and Trunk: Prominent internodes green to brownish-gray as it matures. As a clumping palm, the arrangement of mature stems often reminds one of bamboo. White to Beige nodes.

    Horticultural Information

      • Light Preference: Shade to Full Sun
      • Soil Preferences: Loam, Sand, Organic, Moist, Well-Drained.
      • Tolerances: . Submerged Roots, Humidity, Regular Watering, 
      • Water Requirements: Naturally grows in peat -moss wetlands, so it is accustomed to being submerged. requires moist, loamy, sandy, organic, humid, well drained conditions. Cannot survive drought.
      • Additional Notes: Grows very slowly, difficult to propagate rendering it a high value plant.
      • Propagation: Seeds, Division
      • Minimum USDA Hardiness Zone: 11a
      • Weed Risk Assessment Score (WRA): 1, Evaluate

      Most Popular Plants

      Barringtonia asiatica (Barringtonia)

      Image
      TropPlant Accession Number (TPAN) : 0101 Botanical Name: Barringtonia asiatica   Common Name: Barringtonia, Fish Poison Tree, Putat, Botong (Pilipino name), Shaving Brush Tree Cultivar: N/A Family: Lecythidaceae Barringtonia asiatica Photo by Matthew Gaston Native To: South Pacific, Taiwan, and Zanzibar  Landscaping Information Plant Type : Tree Texture: Dense Form: Upright-broad  Height (on average, in landscape use): 25'-45' Height to Spread Ratio: 1:2 Growth Rate:   Medium Landscape Values: Street Tree, Shade, Specimen, Windbreak, Erosion Control Outstanding Quality: Flowers, Foliage Characters, Fruit Barringtonia asiatica at UH Manoa Photo by Matthew Gaston Botanical Descriptions Flowers: 5"-7" wide, white to cream petals. White to light pink stamens are abundant. The two-lobed calyx and pistil remain attached to the tree, while petals and stamens fall below. Flowers open at nig...
      Read More»

      Graptophyllum pictum (Caricature Plant)

      Image
      T ropPlant Accession Number (TPAN) : 0002 Botanical Name: Graptophyllum pictum Common Name: Caricature Plant Cultivars: 'Igneum', 'Lurido-sanguineum', 'Tricolor'/'Waimea', 'Eldorado' Family: Acanthaceae  (Acanthus Family) Graptophyllum pictum   Photo by Matthew Gaston Graptophyllum pictum 'Igneum'  Photo by Matthew Gaston Graptophyllum pictum 'Lurido-sanguineum'  Photo by Matthew Gaston Graptophyllum pictum 'Eldorado'  Photo by Matthew Gaston Graptophyllum pictum 'Tricolor' (believed to be the same as Graptophyllum pictum 'Waimea') Photo by Matthew Gaston Native To: New Guinea Landscaping Information
      Read More»

      Tabernaemontana divaricata (Crepe Jasmine)

      Image
      TropPlant Accession Number (TPAN) : 0081 Botanical Name: Tabernaemontana divaricate Common Name: Crepe Jasmine, Crepe Jasmine, East India Rose Bay, Nero's Crown, Coffee Rose, Flower of Love, Phut Son Cultivar: 'Flore Pleno' Family: Apocynaceae Native To: India, Southern China, Northern Thailand Tabernaemontana divaricata after a rain Photo by Matthew Gaston Landscaping Information Plant Type : Shrub, Treelet Texture: Medium Form: Mound to Round-Headed Height (on average, in landscape use): 2'- 15' Height to Spread Ratio: The ratio of height at maturity to the width (spread) at maturity. Growth Rate: Fast Landscape Values: Accent, Background, Border, Edging, Facer, Filler, Foundation, Framing, Hedge, Patio, Quick Effect, Screen, Specimen Outstanding Quality: Flowers , Fragrance Botanical Descriptions Flowers: Sweet Fragrance, green sepals, white petals, 0.5"-1.1" long. Double flower cul...
      Read More»

      Ficus benjamina (Benjamin Fig)

      Image
      TropPlant Accession Number (TPAN) : 0049 Botanical Name: Ficus benjamina  Common Name: Benjamin Fig, Weeping Fig, Weeping Chinese Banyan Cultivars: 'Exotica' is discussed in this post, but several cultivars exist. Family: Moraceae Native To: India, Southern China, and the Solomon Islands. Ficus benjamina Photo by Matthew Gaston Landscaping Information Plant Type : Tree  Texture: Dense, Open Form: Weeping/Pendent  Height (on average, in landscape use): 45'- 60' Height to Spread Ratio: 1:2 Growth Rate: Medium Landscape Values: Background, Border, Edging, Facer, Filler, Foundation, Framing, Hedge, Indoor, Lanai, Patio, Screen, Shade, Sculptural Form, Specimen, Erosion Control Outstanding Quality: Form/Silhouette, Foliage Characters  Ficus benjamina Photo by Matthew Gaston Ficus benjamina at the UH Manoa Campus Photo by Matthew Gaston Botanical Descriptions Figs: 0.25"-0.75...
      Read More»

      Azadirachta indica (Neem Tree)

      Image
      TropPlant Accession Number (TPAN) : 0082  Botanical Name: Azadirachta indica Common Name: Neem Tree, Indian Lilac, Nim Tree Cultivar: N/A Family: Meliaceae Native To: India Azadirachta indica Photo by Matthew Gaston Landscaping Information Plant Type : Tree Texture: Dense, Coarse Form: Upright-Broad to Weeping/Pendent Height (on average, in landscape use): 30'-50'' Height to Spread Ratio: 2:1 Growth Rate: Rather Fast Landscape Values: Accent, Street Tree, Background, Mass, Shade, Sculptural Form, Specimen, Windbreak, Erosion Control Outstanding Quality: Form/Silhouette, Foliage Characters Azadirachta indica   Photo by Matthew Gaston Botanical Descriptions Flowers: Small, white, (allegedly) fragrant flowers arranged on an axillary panicle.   Azadirachta indica inflorescence Photo by Matthew Gaston Azadirachta indica inflorescence Photo by Matthew Gaston Frui...
      Read More»

      Ficus microcarpa var. crassifolia (Wax Fig)

      Image
      T ropPlant Accession Number (TPAN) : 0016 Botanical Name: Ficus microcarpa var. crassifolia Common Name: Wax Fig, Taiwan Ficus Variety: crassifolia Family: Moraceae Native To: Southern Taiwan Ficus microcarpa var. crassifolia leaves. Note the bronze to bright yellow-green young leaves.  Photo by Matthew Gaston Landscaping Information Plant Type : Shrub Texture: Dense Form: Mound, Cushion Height (on average, in landscape use): 1.5' - 4' Height to Spread Ratio: 1:2 Growth Rate: Fast Landscape Values: Border, Color, Edging, Facer, Filler, Foundation, Framing, Hedge, Indoor, Lanai, Patio, Space Division, Groundcover, Specimen Outstanding Quality: Foliage and Form; often used for Bonsai  Ficus microcarpa var. crassifolia  as a hedge/groundcover below a tree  Photo by Matthew Gaston Botanical Descriptions Flowers/Fruits: paired figs, sessile, 0.2"-0.4" long, glabrous, purple to black when ripe...
      Read More»