Hi Breezey.
Don't know much about Palm (wood) but most pieces I have seen are very fibrous. I believe they are very difficult to cut neatly because of the fibres. Possibly a oil finish, but I have not had any personal experience of Palm woods.
Picked up this description on the web:- Description
One of only a few palms utilised for timber and in common with other palms has a soft and fibrous core with only useful hard material only on the extreme outer parts of the logs resulting in only small sizes being offered. The wood has an unique structure with dark, almost black, hard streaks in a paler background matrix.. Difficult to work but with unusual effect.
Good luck