Adonidia merrillii (Christmas palm)

Native to Sabah in Malaysian Borneo and the Philippine islands of Palawan and Danjugan, this solitary palm is widely grown in tropical gardens. In southern Florida, it can reach about 20 to 25 feet tall. Groups of several trunks usually consist of separate palms planted together. Cream-colored flowers form in branched clusters below the crown of leaves. In Florida, the fruits ripen bright red from late fall into winter, giving it the common name Christmas palm. Old leaves fall away naturally. It is highly susceptible to lethal yellowing, a bacterial disease that can kill the palm. It has naturalized in Niue in the South Pacific. Photographed in Barranquilla, Colombia.