WorldFloraDB - Trachycarpus fortunei

Characteristics

A fan palm. It has a slender trunk. It grows 9-15 m tall and spreads 2.5-3 m wide. The leaves are fan shaped. The leaves are mid green and 1 m long by 1 m wide. They are pleated and split at the ends. This gives a jagged tooth-like appearance. The leaf stalks are sharply toothed and 1 m long. These arch out from the top of an upright stem. The trunk is covered with the remains of the dead leaves. Male and female flowers are on separate trees. The flowers are small and yellow. They occur in large dense clusters that can be 60 cm long. The fruit are small and blue-black and date-like. They are 1 cm long and kidney shaped.

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Stem solitary, to 12 m tall, to 15 cm in diam. Leaf sheath fibers persistent, forming an ocrea more than 25 cm; petioles to 60 m, margins with very fine teeth; blades semicircular in outline, to 1.2 m wide, green on abaxial surface, divided to ca. 3/4 their length into 40-50 stiff segments, transverse veinlets barely visible; middle segments to 3 cm wide. Inflorescences 0.7-0.9 m, erect; male inflorescences branched to 4 orders; rachillae 1-3 cm; female inflorescences branched to 3 orders; rachillae 3-15 cm. Fruits black with a waxy bloom, kidney-shaped, to 0.9 × 1.4 cm.

Trunk straight, unbranched, from 4-12 m high; upper part covered with dark brown fibrous remains of petiole bases. Leaves fan-shaped, 75 × 100 cm, divided into numerous narrow leaflets pendulous at tip; petioles ± 1 m long with stout sharp marginal teeth, tapering to a broad sheath. Panicle deflexed. Flowers numerous. Drupe globose-reniform, 9 × c. 12 mm, yellow at first, later deep blue-black.

Life form

perennial

Growth form

tree

Growth support

free-standing

Foliage retention

evergreen

Sexuality

dioecy

Pollination

entomogamy

Spread

-

Mature width (meter)

1.5 - 2.5

Mature height (meter)

6.5 - 12.0

Root system

-

Rooting depth (meter)

-

Root diameter (meter)

-

Flower color

Blooming months

Jan	Feb	Mar
Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep
Oct	Nov	Dec

Fruit color

Fruiting months

-

Nitrogen fixer

-

Photosynthetic pathway

c3

Environment

It is a warm temperate plant. It is native to C. & S. China. It can tolerate cold. They can tolerate temperatures as low as-15°C. It is very difficult to grow in the tropics. It suits hardiness zones 8-11. Arboretum Tasmania. Hobart Botanical Gardens. Melbourne Botanical Gardens. In Yunnan.

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Montane oak forests; at elevations from 100-2,400 metres.

Light
Soil humidity
Soil texture
Soil acidity
Soil nutriment	-
Hardiness (USDA)

Usage

The flowers are edible. The young flower buds are eaten like bamboo shoots. They are also marinated in honey and vinegar. The terminal bud is eaten. A tea drink made from the seeds is used to make blood pressure normal.

Uses	environmental use fiber fodder food material medicinal tea
Edible	flowers seeds shoots
Therapeutic use	Hemostatics (leaf), Hemostatics (seed), Uterine hemorrhage (seed), Enterorrhagia (unspecified), Hemostat (unspecified)
Human toxicity	-
Animal toxicity	-

Cultivation

Plants are grown from seed. Seed germinate easily. Plants grow alone rarely produce seed.

Mode	seedlings suckers
Germination duration (days)	40 - 90
Germination temperacture (C°)	12 - 18
Germination luminosity	-
Germination treatment	scarification soaking stratification
Minimum temperature (C°)	-12
Optimum temperature (C°)	-
Size	-
Vigor	-
Productivity	-