Plant Family: Belongs to the Arecaceae or Palm family, which includes Coconut (Cocos nucifera), Royal Palm (Roystonea oleracea) and Century Palm (Corypha umbraculifera).

Description: Easy to grow, handsome, hardy, many stemmed, clustered palm, with small prop roots, greyish to yellow, up to 6 m tall (20 ft), with stem about 10-13 cm in diameter (4-5 in); leaves pinnately compound, 6-8 coming from top of slender trunk, with 80-100 long, fine, feathery leaflets, both leaf and leaflets aching strongly; flowers yellow, in long, large inflorescences, up to 1 m long (3 ft); fruit ovoid, up to 2 cm long (0.8 in), orange-yellow and single seeded .

Natural Habitat: Tropical palm thriving in sun or shade, on moist, well-drained soils; propagation by suckers and seed, germination taking 2-6 months.

Origin and Distribution: Native of Madagascar in littoral forests of northeast, but today is endangered and very rare there; however, now very common in tropical and subtropical landscapes around the world; and is most popular house palm worldwide.

Uses: Cultivated specimen ornamental, and as hedge or screen in tropical or subtropical landscapes; excellent for pot culture.

Indigenous Legends: Name “Golden Cane” derives from beautiful golden yellow color of leaf petioles.

References:
Jeff Bielski. Chrysalidocarpus lutescens. Floridata, Tallahassee, Florida, 2000 (floridata.com)
H.F. Macmillan. Tropical Planting and Gardening. Macmillan, London 1956
Anon. [Joseph Jones?]. Official Guide to the Botanic Gardens, Dominica. Kew Gardens, London 1924?
Robert A. DeFilipps. Useful Plants of the Commonwealth of Dominica. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.1998