A Palm Tree Blooms

I've had enough of the cold this winter.  E-N-O-U-G-H!

I could stay inside and try to pretend I am in the tropics.  Turn up the heat.  Put on some tropical music.  Make some pina coladas.  And watch my Areca palm bloom and produce fruit.  Yes, fruit.

Back in 2008, a friend sent me a plant arrangement after my second surgery on my leg.  The grouping was small and pretty and welcome.  After a few years, some plants were removed that were not doing so well.  Then I found that I needed to replant the entire group to a larger basket. 

There was a dracaena plant, some ivy, a croton, and an areca palm; all plants that do not require a lot of special care, just light and water.  The basket sits on the sofa table in front of one of the doorwalls.

Several weeks ago I noticed this strange looking growth emanating from the palm:

Never having grown a palm before, I had no idea what to expect.  And the fact that somehow I was thinking this was a fern (DUH!), made it hard to find any info online.  Then two more of these showed up. 

Saturday is usually the day I check all the plants to see if they need water.  Imagine my surprise when I saw these:

Now I was really stumped as to what they were.   And then it hit me.  This is an areca palm plant.
Dypsis lutescens  Hmmm.  I guess I was a bit of a 'dyp' myself in not figuring this out sooner.

The fruit that develops is apparently eaten by birds in its native Madagascar.  I doubt that I will eat the fruit, but I do think I will try to find out how to plant the seeds.  And from what I have read, this plant will eventually need to be moved to a larger pot by itself.

So, I'll lie back on the couch, read my mystery, watch my palm grow, and think about that pina colada.  Steel drums anyone?