Phoenix roebelenii (Pygmy Date Palm)

A slow-growing evergreen palm native from southern China to northern Indochina, it belongs to the Arecaceae family. It grows along rivers and reaches about ten feet tall. Its slender trunk retains old leaf bases beneath a crown of arching, featherlike leaves. The lowest leaflets are modified into sharp spines. Male and female flowers grow on separate plants in branched clusters among the leaves. The flowers are cream-colored, and female plants produce small, oblong fruits that become dark purple to black when ripe. Photographed in Colombia.