Pseudophoenix sargentii and P. vinifera are popular ornamental palms in southern Florida and over the past five years growers have noticed a blackening of the leaf sheath, assumed to be caused by a fungus. In order to understand susceptibility, we created a ranking system to analyze possible susceptibility factors: age, location, provenance and species. All 100 Pseudophoenix individuals at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden were ranked. The presence of the decline varied with plant age. Older individuals had increased susceptibility and individuals that were not reproductively mature were always asymptomatic. The decline was found in all species except P. ekmanii, plants of which were not reproductively mature. Pseudophoenix sargentii was the most susceptible species. Neither provenance nor location in the landscape was a significant factor.
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