Polyalthia longifolia.???

totally looks like it - thanks Floral_uk

If only they grew in California.

thankyou stan, I was wondering how far south they could handle. Occasionally we get a frost here. But I think more importantly, not enough water for them. Any idea how much they need? annual rainfall?

No,but I see they only thrive in wet humid tropics..south Florida or Hawaii only. In socal? Looks to be strictly a greenhouse tree.

I just googled Florida - 54" annual rainfall - geez!! thats a lot! Looks like a great spot from google images - why would you live anywhere else in the USA!!

I’ve seen them in Sri Lanka.

They grow all around India, even in the arid climates like Delhi where there is very little rain for the most part.

They're called Indian Mast Trees here, fairly common. They look quite distinctive when they get tall. But as I understand, they produce a lot of seed and become weedy. So that's why I haven't tried them, plus I like large canopied trees that produce shade.

About two weeks ago I was driving over to the beach (I’m 40 minutes inland), and low and behold, I noticed 3 of these trees growing in someone’s garden, so on my way home I stopped, asked the lovely lady if I could take a cutting, not knowing whether cuttings will work, but the next morning, I finally remembered that I had taken some cuttings, and had put them in my esky, so I trimmed them up, and gave them my usual cutting treatment of honey water, with a bit of seasol. (In case they don’t have seasol in America, seasol is a type of seaweed solution that sends a message to the plant saying ‘Grow Grow Grow!’) I also sprayed them with diluted seasol twice a day and this morning, as you can see, there’s little new leaves appearing on some of the stems! very exciting. I’m going to have myself some Indian Mast Trees, I’m definitely going to see if I can grow one indoors too.

I’ve done a batch of purple flowered paperbarks to give to the nice old lady who let me have some cuttings (finally I’ve encountered someone who, like me, likes purple flowering paperbarks - purple is rare, usually they are cream (Melaleuca quinquenervia). Actually someone said that it must be Melaluca viridiflora, sometimes they are known to put out some rare red flowers instead of cream. But Melaleuca‘s are quite hard to identify, so I’m going to have to wait till my existing two-year-old gets bigger, if I’m still here, which actually, I know I won’t be, so I guess it’s true identification will remain a mystery….

Thanks all on this forum for your help.