Rhapidophyllum

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Needle palm
Rhapidophyllum Strongbad1982.jpg
Specimen planted in a Maryland back yard
Status TNC G4.svg
Apparently Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Subfamily: Coryphoideae
Tribe: Trachycarpeae
Genus: Rhapidophyllum
H.Wendl. & Drude
Species:
R. hystrix
Binomial name
Rhapidophyllum hystrix
Synonyms [2]
  • Corypha hystrixFraser ex Thouin
  • Chamaerops hystrix(Fraser ex Thouin) Pursh
  • Sabal hystrix(Fraser ex Thouin) Nutt.
  • Rhapis carolinianaKunth

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. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] It is one of the most cold-hardy palms in the world, and can be found growing in several areas with warm temperate climates. [7]

Contents

Description

The needle palm assumes a shrublike clumping form with several stems growing from a single base, the stems growing very slowly and tightly together, eventually forming a dense base 1–1.2 m (3.3–3.9 ft) tall, with numerous sharp needle-like spines produced between the leaves; these are 10–25 cm (3.9–9.8 in) long and protect the stem growing point from browsing animals. The whole plant can reach 2–3 m (6.6–9.8 ft) tall to the top of the erect central leaves.

It is a fan palm (Arecaceae, subfamily Coryphoideae), with the leaves with a long petiole terminating in a rounded fan of 8–16 leaflets; each leaf is up to 2 m (6.6 ft) long, with the leaflets up to 60–80 cm (24–31 in) long. The flowers are borne in dense, short clusters at the top of the stems; it is usually dioecious with male and female flowers on separate plants. The fruit is a brown drupe about 2 cm (0.79 in) long. [8]

Taxonomy

It is the sole member of the genus Rhapidophyllum. The scientific name Rhapidophyllum means "needle-leaf", while hystrix is from the scientific name of a genus of porcupines. The English name likewise refers to the needle-like spines produced at the petiole bases; for similar reasons, it is also occasionally called "porcupine palm".

Cultivation and uses

Cultivated plant, with the ends of the leaves cut off and showing the stem needles Rhapidophyllum hystrix.jpg
Cultivated plant, with the ends of the leaves cut off and showing the stem needles

The needle palm is very popular among palm enthusiasts in temperate climates for its ability to tolerate modest cold. Some reports have claimed survival of temperatures as low as −26 °C (−15 °F) with heavy damage, but with the palm recovering. More realistic estimates are closer to −21 °C (−5 °F) with foliar damage. Recovery of winter damage of needle palms is much more precarious in climates with cool summers like the Pacific Northwest and northwestern Europe. [9]

In the United States, needle palms are reliably cultivated north along the East Coast to Connecticut, and along the West Coast of the US as far north as Seattle, Washington. Large, well-established specimens have been growing in Tennessee, the southern Ohio Valley, and Washington, DC at the United States National Arboretum since the 1960s, and more recently in the coastal New York City area at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. It is becoming one of the most popular landscaping palms in the Chesapeake Bay area of Maryland. Needle palms need hot summers to thrive and the species does not grow well in the cool summer climates mentioned above. [10]

A very mature Rhapidophyllum hystrix growing at Juniper Level Botanic Garden in Garner, NC NeedlePalmJLBG.jpg
A very mature Rhapidophyllum hystrix growing at Juniper Level Botanic Garden in Garner, NC
Needle Palm at the U.S. National Arboretum Needle Palm - National Arboretum.jpg
Needle Palm at the U.S. National Arboretum

The needle palm is considered to be commercially exploited and therefore threatened. When purchasing this palm, it is wise to purchase it only from a reputable dealer, as some unscrupulous dealers harvest them directly from the wild. [9] [10]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Aralia spinosa</i> Species of tree

Aralia spinosa, commonly known as devil's walking stick, is a woody species of plant in the genus Aralia, family Araliaceae, native to eastern North America. The various names refer to the viciously sharp, spiny stems, petioles, and even leaf midribs. It has also been known as Angelica-tree.

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

Trachycarpus fortunei, the Chinese windmill palm, windmill palm or Chusan palm, is a species of hardy evergreen palm tree in the family Arecaceae, native to parts of China, Japan, Myanmar and India.

<i>Washingtonia</i> Genus of palms

Washingtonia is a genus of palms, native to the southwestern United States and northwest Mexico. Both Washingtonia species are commonly cultivated across the Southern United States, the Middle East, southern Europe, and North Africa, where they have greatly hybridized.

<i>Sabal minor</i> Species of palm

Sabal minor, commonly known as the dwarf palmetto, is a small species of palm. It is native to the deep southeastern and south-central United States and northeastern Mexico. It is naturally found in a diversity of habitats, including maritime forests, swamps, floodplains, and occasionally on drier sites. It is often found growing in calcareous marl soil. Sabal minor is one of the most frost and cold tolerant among North American palms.

<i>Washingtonia robusta</i> Species of palm

Washingtonia robusta, known by common name as the Mexican fan palm, Mexican washingtonia, or skyduster is a palm tree native to the Baja California peninsula and a small part of Sonora in northwestern Mexico. Despite its limited native distribution, W. robusta one of the most widely cultivated subtropical palms in the world. It is naturalized in Florida, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Hawaii, Texas, parts of the Canary Islands, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Malta, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen, Iran, Afghanistan, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Réunion,.

<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.

<i>Nannorrhops</i> Species of plant

Nannorrhops ritchiana, the Mazari palm, is the sole species in the genus Nannorrhops in the palm family Arecaceae.

<i>Corypha umbraculifera</i> Species of palm

Corypha umbraculifera, the talipot palm, is a species of palm native to eastern and southern India and Sri Lanka. It is also grown in Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and the Andaman Islands. It is one of the five accepted species in the genus Corypha. It is a flowering plant with the largest inflorescence in the world. It lives up to 60 years before bearing flowers and fruits. It dies shortly after.

<i>Acoelorrhaphe</i> Genus of palms

Acoelorrhaphe is a genus of palms with single species Acoelorrhaphe wrightii, known as the Paurotis palm, Everglades palm or Madeira palm in English and cubas, tique, and papta in Spanish.

<i>Aiphanes minima</i> Species of plant

Aiphanes minima is a spiny palm tree which is native to the insular Caribbean from Hispaniola to Grenada, and widely cultivated elsewhere. Usually 5–8 metres (16–26 ft) tall, it sometimes grows as an understorey tree and only 2 m (6.6 ft) in height.

<i>Yucca gloriosa</i> Species of shrub

Yucca gloriosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to the southeastern United States. Growing to 2.5 m (8 ft), it is an evergreen shrub. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental for its architectural qualities, and has reportedly become established in warmer climates in the wild in various parts of the world.

<i>Rhapis</i> Genus of palms

Rhapis is a genus of about 10 species of small palms native to southeastern Asia from southern Japan and southern China south to Sumatra. The species are commonly known as lady palms. They are fan palms, with the leaves with a bare petiole terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflets. The plants have thin stems growing to 3–4 m tall, branching at the base, forming clumps and are dioecious, with male and female flowers produced on separate plants.

<i>Phoenix rupicola</i> Species of palm

Phoenix rupicola or cliff date palm is a species of flowering plant in the palm family, native to the mountainous forests of India and Bhutan from 300 to 1200 m, usually occurring on cliffs, hillsides and similar terrain. It is threatened by habitat loss in its native range. On the other hand, the species is reportedly naturalised in the Andaman Islands, the Leeward Islands, Cuba and Puerto Rico and a specimen has recently been reported in Saint Lucia.

<i>Roscheria</i> Species of plant

Roscheria is an endangered, monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family. The genus is named for Albrecht Roscher, a 19th-century German explorer, and the epithet for its single species R. melanochaetes derives from Latin and Greek meaning 'black' and 'bristle', alluding to the spines covering the trunks. They naturally occur on the Mahé and Silhouette Islands of Seychelles where they grow in mountainous rainforest and are threatened by habitat loss.

Barcella is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in the States of Amazonas and Roraima in northwestern Brazil. The only known species is Barcella odora which is used by the Brazilian peoples in construction and for various thatched goods.

<i>Myrialepis</i> Genus of palms

Myrialepis is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family. The single species, Myrialepis paradoxa, is native to Southeast Asia. The genus name is a combination of the Greek words meaning "innumerable" and "scale", a description of the fruit, and the epithet is Latin for "paradox".

<i>Ptychosperma elegans</i> Species of palm endemic to Queensland

Ptychosperma elegans, commonly known as the solitaire palm, is a very slender palm endemic to Queensland in Australia. In the nursery trade and in the United States it may be confusingly referred to as Alexander palm, which is an often-used but misnomered name of another Australian palm species Archontophoenix alexandrae, the Alexandra palm.

<i>Calamus radicalis</i> Species of plant in the family Arecaceae

Calamus radicalis, commonly known as vicious hairy mary, is a plant in the palm family Arecaceae endemic to the rainforests of north east Queensland, Australia. Like other species in the genus Calamus, this is a climbing plant with a very long and flexible stem. It uses sharp strong hooks on the fronds and tendrils to attach itself to other vegetation, such as taller established trees, thus gaining support that enables it to grow higher towards the canopy. This species is very similar to C. australis, with which it coexists, but is larger in almost all respects.

References

  1. "NatureServe Explorer 2.0".
  2. 1 2 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  3. Biota of North America Program, county distribution map
  4. Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J. (2005). World Checklist of Palms: 1-223. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  5. US Department of Agriculture Plants Profile
  6. Palmpedia, Rhapidophyllum hystrix
  7. Hardiest Palms, Needle Palm - Rhapidophyllum hystrix
  8. Flora of North America, Vol. 22 Page 101, Rhapidophyllum hystrix (Pursh) H. Wendland & Drude, Bot. Zeitung (Berlin). 34: 803. 1876.
  9. 1 2 Miami University, Ohio: Cincinnati area hardy palm research
  10. 1 2 Floridata: Needle Palm