Trachycarpus
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 Trachycarpus fortunei planted in the Italian Alps
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Trachycarpus fortunei |
Trachycarpus is a genus of eight species of palms native to Asia, from the Himalaya east to eastern China. They are fan palms (Arecaceae tribe Corypheae), with the leaves with a bare petiole terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflets. The leaf bases produce persistent fibers 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.
[edit] Cultivation and uses
The most common species in cultivation is Trachycarpus fortunei (Chusan Palm or Windmill Palm), a temperate palm which is , in cultivated range, probably the northernmost palm species in the world, having been successfully grown in such cool and damp but relatively mild locales such as Scotland, southwestern Norway and the panhandle of Alaska. It is frequent in gardens in the British Isles, along the Atlantic coast of France and northern Spain, in southern Switzerland and northern Italy, and in the Pacific Northwest of North America. The dwarf form known as "Trachycarpus wagnerianus" is unknown in the wild, and is considered to be a synonym of T. fortunei (Kew palms checklist). It resembles that species closely, differing mainly in its smaller and much stiffer leaves. Hybrids between them are reportedly intermediate in size and fully fertile.
Trachycarpus takil (the Kumaon Palm) is a larger species otherwise similar to T. fortunei; it is reportedly more tolerant of cold, though firm evidence for this is lacking due to its rarity in cultivation. Other species less common in cultivation are T. geminisectus, T. princeps, T. latisectus, T. martianus, T. nanus and T. oreophilus. T. martianus and T. latisectus do not tolerate cold as well as T. fortunei, T. takil or T. wagnerianus. T. geminisectus, T. princeps and T. oreophilus are still too rare and small in cultivation to assess their full potential.
The trunk fibres produced by the leaf sheaths of Trachycarpus fortunei are harvested in China and elsewhere to make coarse but very strong rope, brooms and brushes. This use gives rise to the old alternative name "Hemp-palm". The fibrous leaf sheaths are also frequently used to clothe stems of artificial palms.
This genus is very popular among palm enthusiasts for its ability to withstand cold, especially in the form of damp, cool summer weather with relatively mild winter weather. These palms often tolerate snow in their native habitats and are the hardiest trunking palms.
Trachycarpus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Paysandisia archon (recorded on T. fortunei).
[edit] References and external links
- Beccari, O. (1931). Asiatic Palms - Corypheae (ed. U. Martelli). Ann. Roy. Bot. Gard. (Calcutta) 13: 1-356.
- Kimnach, M. (1977). The Species of Trachycarpus. Principes 21: 155-160.
- Meerow, A. W. (2005). Betrock's Cold Hardy Palms. Betrock Information Systems, Inc., Hollywood, Florida.
- Kew palms checklist: Trachycarpus
- Flora of China: Trachycarpus species list
- Flora of Nepal: Trachycarpus species list
- PACSOA: Trachycarpus
- The Genus Trachycarpus from Palm & Cycad Societies of Florida
- Scanpalm - Trachycarpus cultivation in Scandinavia
