Trachycarpus fortunei

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Trachycarpus fortunei
TrachycarpusFortunei.jpg
Arecaceae-zhejiang2005-1.JPG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Tribe: Trachycarpeae
Genus: Trachycarpus
Species:
T. fortunei
Binomial name
Trachycarpus fortunei
Synonyms [1]
  • Chamaerops excelsa hort.
  • Chamaerops fortunei Hook.
  • T. wagnerianus hort. ex Becc.

Trachycarpus fortunei, known in English as Chusan palm [2] [3] and in American as Chinese windmill palm, [4] is a species of hardy evergreen palm tree in the family Arecaceae, native to parts of China, Japan, Myanmar and India.

Contents

Description

Growing to 12–20 m (39–66 ft) tall, Trachycarpus fortunei is a single-stemmed fan palm. The diameter of the trunk is up to 15–30 cm (6–12 in). Its texture is very rough, with the persistent leaf bases clasping the stem as layers of coarse dark grey-brown fibrous material. The leaves have long petioles which are bare except for two rows of small spines, terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflets. Each leaf is 140–190 cm (4 ft 7 in – 6 ft 3 in) long, with the petiole 60–100 cm (2 ft 0 in – 3 ft 3 in) long, and the leaflets up to 90 cm (2 ft 11 in) long. It is a somewhat variable plant, especially as regards its general appearance; and some specimens are to be seen with leaf segments having straight and others having drooping tips. [5]

The flowers are yellow (male) and greenish (female), about 2–4 mm (332532 in) across, borne in large branched panicles up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) long in spring; it is dioecious, with male and female flowers produced on separate trees. The fruit is a yellow to blue-black, reniform (kidney-shaped) drupe 10–12 mm (13321532 in) long, ripening in mid-autumn. [6] [3]

Distribution and habitat

This plant has been cultivated in China and Japan for thousands of years. This makes tracking its natural range difficult. It is believed to originate in central China (Hubei southwards), southern Japan (Kyushu), south to northern Myanmar and northern India, growing at altitudes of 100–2,400 m (328–7,874 ft). [1] [6] [7] [8]

Trachycarpus fortunei is one of the hardiest palms. It tolerates cool, moist summers as well as cold winters, as it grows at much higher altitudes than other species, up to 2,400 m (7,874 ft) in the mountains of southern China. [6] However, it is not the northernmost naturally occurring palm in the world, as European fan palm ( Chamaerops humilis ) grows further north in the Mediterranean. [3]

Uses

Trachycarpus fortunei has been cultivated in China and Japan for thousands of years, for its coarse but very strong leaf sheath fibre, used for making rope, sacks, and other coarse cloth where great strength is important. The extent of this cultivation means that the exact natural range of the species is uncertain. [6] [3]

Cultivation

Trachycarpus fortunei is cultivated as a trunking palm in gardens and parks throughout the world in warm temperate and subtropical climates. Its tolerance of cool summers and cold winters makes it valued by palm enthusiasts, landscape designers and gardeners. It is grown successfully in cool climates such as the UK, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, western Poland as well as southern and western Germany. In the UK it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [3] [9]

Due to its widespread use as an ornamental plant, the palm has become naturalised in southern regions of Switzerland, and has become an invasive species of concern. [10]

In North America, mature specimens can be found growing in the coastal areas of the Pacific Northwest, the upper southern states, and Mid-Atlantic states. Lower tolerance limits of −15 to −20 °C (5 to −4 °F) are commonly cited for mature plants. [2] Young plants are less hardy, and can be damaged by only −8 °C (18 °F). Individuals of the cultivar T. f. 'Nainital' have lived outside in the northern Connecticut town of Woodbury. [11] continuously since the early 2000s with protection, where some winters have reached −21 °C (−6 °F).[ citation needed ]et al., 2016 found one healthy specimen in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, which has survived a low temperature of -27.5° C. [12] [13] [14]

The cultivar group Trachycarpus fortunei 'Wagnerianus' is a small-leafed semi-dwarf variant of the species selected in cultivation in China and Japan. It differs in rarely growing to more than 5 m (16 ft) tall, with leaflets less than 45 cm (1 ft 6 in) long; the short stature and small leaves give it greater tolerance of wind exposure. [3] It has often been treated as a separate species T. wagnerianus in popular works, but is now included within T. fortunei. [8] [6] [1]

As food

The young flower buds are cooked and eaten in a variety of ways. [15]

Nomenclature

The species was brought from Japan (Dejima) to Europe by the German physician Philipp Franz von Siebold in 1830. The common name refers to Chusan Island (now Zhoushan Island), where Robert Fortune first saw cultivated specimens. In 1849, Fortune smuggled plants from China to the Kew Horticultural Gardens and the Royal garden of Prince Albert of the United Kingdom. [16] It was later named Trachycarpus fortunei, after him. It was first described by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius in 1850 in his Historia Naturalis Palmarum but under the illegitimate name of Chamaerops excelsa.

The names Chamaerops excelsus and Trachycarpus excelsus have occasionally been misapplied to Trachycarpus fortunei; these are correctly synonyms of Rhapis excelsa , with the confusion arising due to a misunderstanding of Japanese vernacular names. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Fortune</span> Scottish botanist, plant hunter and traveller

Robert Fortune was a Scottish botanist, plant hunter and traveller, best known for introducing around 250 new ornamental plants, mainly from China, but also Japan, into the gardens of Britain, Australia, and North America. He also played a role in the development of the tea industry in India in the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Logan Botanic Garden</span> Scottish botanical garden with unusual climate

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Rhapidophyllum hystrix, the needle palm, is a palm native to coastal margins of the subtropical eastern Gulf and south Atlantic states of the United States. Populations can be found from coastal southeast South Carolina, southward to Florida and west across the coastal plain of Mississippi and southern Alabama. It is one of the most cold-hardy palms in the world, and can be found growing in several areas with warm temperate climates.

<i>Trachycarpus</i> Genus of palms

Trachycarpus is a genus of eleven species of palms native to Asia, from the Himalaya east to eastern China. They are fan palms, with the leaves with a bare petiole terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflets. The leaf bases produce persistent fibres that often give the trunk a characteristic hairy appearance. All species are dioecious, with male and female flowers produced on separate plants although female plants will sometimes produce male flowers, allowing occasional self-pollination.

<i>Hosta</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae

Hosta is a genus of plants commonly known as hostas, plantain lilies and occasionally by the Japanese name gibōshi. Hostas are widely cultivated as shade-tolerant foliage plants. The genus is currently placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae, and is native to northeast Asia. Like many "lilioid monocots", the genus was once classified in the Liliaceae. The genus was named by Austrian botanist Leopold Trattinnick in 1812, in honor of the Austrian botanist Nicholas Thomas Host. In 1817, the generic name Funkia was used by German botanist Kurt Sprengel in honor of Heinrich Christian Funck, a collector of ferns and alpines; this was later used as a common name and can be found in some older literature.

<i>Wisteria sinensis</i> Variety of legume

Wisteria sinensis, commonly known as the Chinese wisteria, is a species of flowering plant in the pea family, native to China, in the provinces of Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Shaanxi, and Yunnan. Growing 20–30 m (66–98 ft) tall, it is a deciduous vine. It is widely cultivated in temperate regions for its twisting stems and masses of scented flowers in hanging racemes, in spring.

<i>Chamaerops</i> Genus of palms

Chamaerops is a genus of flowering plants in the family Arecaceae. It contains only one species, Chamaerops humilis, variously called European fan palm or the Mediterranean dwarf palm. It is one of the most cold-hardy palms and is used in landscaping in temperate climates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Odoardo Beccari</span> Italian botanist and naturalist (1843–1920)

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<i>Trachycarpus takil</i> Species of palm

Trachycarpus takil, the Kumaon palm, is a fan palm tree that is endemic to the foothills of the Himalaya in southern Asia. It is very similar to Trachycarpus fortunei, the windmill palm.

<i>Trachycarpus fortunei</i> Wagnerianus Palm cultivar

Trachycarpus fortunei 'Wagnerianus' is unknown in the wild, but may have originated in cultivation in Japan, where it was first discovered by the horticulturalist Albert Wagner of Leipzig, Germany in the second half of the 19th century. Wagner made several collecting trips to Japan and China in the 3rd quarter of the 19th century He had a flourishing business growing palms in his steam-heated greenhouses in northern Germany. It has remained in comparative obscurity until recently, when its qualities as a garden plant were at last realized.

<i>Syagrus romanzoffiana</i> Species of palm

Syagrus romanzoffiana, the queen palm, cocos palm or Jerivá, is a palm native to South America, introduced throughout the world as a popular ornamental garden tree. S. romanzoffiana is a medium-sized palm, quickly reaching maturity at a height of up to 15 m (49 ft) tall, with pinnate leaves having as many as 494 pinnae (leaflets), although more typically around 300, each pinna being around 50 centimetres (18 in) in length and 3–5 centimetres (1–2 in) in width.

<i>Euonymus fortunei</i> Species of flowering plant

Euonymus fortunei, the spindle, Fortune's spindle, winter creeper or wintercreeper, is a species of flowering plant in the family Celastraceae, native to east Asia, including China, Korea, the Philippines and Japan. E. fortunei is highly invasive and damaging in the United States, causing the death of trees and forest in urban areas.

<i>Livistona tahanensis</i> Species of palm

Livistona tahanensis is a species of medium-sized palm tree of the genus Livistona, found on only one mountain top in Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia. In Malay the palm is known as Tahan serdang, or as daun tau.

Clinosperma bractealis is a species of palm tree in the palm family

<i>Borassus heineanus</i> Species of palm

Borassus heineanus is a species of a large solitary fan palm found only in northern New Guinea, in both Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, where it is threatened by habitat loss.

<i>Livistona decora</i> Species of palm

Livistona decora is a species of palm endemic to the sclerophyll woodlands, rainforests, and coastal strands of Queensland, Australia. It is known only from Magnetic Island near the City of Townsville, and south along the coast as far as Rainbow Beach. The species is now widely cultivated in arid regions worldwide as a decorative plant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trachycarpeae</span> Tribe of palms

Trachycarpeae is a tribe of palms in subfamily Coryphoideae of the plant family Arecaceae. It has the widest distribution of any tribe in Coryphoideae and is found on all continents, though the greatest concentration of species is in Southeast Asia. Trachycarpeae includes palms from both tropical and subtropical zones; the northernmost naturally-occurring palm is a member of this tribe. Several genera can be found in cultivation in temperate areas, for example species of Trachycarpus, Chamaerops, Rhapidophyllum and Washingtonia.

<i>Butia odorata</i> Species of palm tree

Butia odorata, also known as the South American jelly palm, jelly palm, or pindo palm, is a Butia palm native to southernmost Brazil and Uruguay. This slow-growing palm grows up to 10m, although it is often less tall. It is identifiable by its feather palm pinnate leaves that arch inwards towards a thick stout trunk.

References

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  2. 1 2 3 Bean, W. J. (1980). Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles, 8th ed., vol. 4. John Murray. ISBN   0-7195-2428-8.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "RHS Plant Selector – Trachycarpus fortunei". RHS. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  4. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Trachycarpus fortunei". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  5. Huxley, Anthony; Griffiths, Mark (1992). Dictionary of Gardening. London: Royal Horticultural Society (Macmillan Press). ISBN   978-0-333-47494-5. OCLC   25202760. 3: 443–448, 4: 491.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Trachycarpus fortunei". Flora of China . Vol. 23. p. 145.
  7. "National Institute for Environmental Studies – Trachycarpus fortunei" . Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  8. 1 2 WCSP, World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Trachycarpus fortunei
  9. "AGM Plants – Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 103. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  10. Tonelotto M, Fehr V, Conedera M, et al. (2022). "Iconic but Invasive: The Public Perception of the Chinese Windmill Palm (Trachycarpus fortunei) in Switzerland". Environmental Management. 70 (4): 618–632. doi: 10.1007/s00267-022-01646-3 . PMC   9439986 . PMID   35474487.
  11. "View Tree Data – Connecticut's Notable Trees".
  12. Donov, Kiril (1993-01-06). "Trachycarpus 'Plovdiv'". The Polar Palms of Bulgaria (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2024-11-01.
  13. Petrova, Ana; Vladimirov, Vladimir (2018-02-15). "Recent progress in floristic and taxonomic studies in Bulgaria". Botanica Serbica . 42 (1): 35–69. doi:10.5281/zenodo.1173552.
  14. Sokolov, Rosen S.; Shalamanov, Stanimir; Marinov, Vladimir. "Species composition and self-reproduction ability of trees and shrubs in Plovdiv Municipality". Phytologia Balcanica . 22 (2): 193–203. S2CID   89760908.
  15. Stuart, G. A. Chinese materia medica Pt. 1 Vegetable kingdom. p. 102. ISBN   0879684690.
  16. "Windmill Palm Trees – Tropical Accent Plants – Cold Hardy for Northern United States and Canadian Gardens". www.tytyga.com. Retrieved 2024-03-06.

Further reading