''Trachycarpus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of eleven species of palms native to

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, from the

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

east to eastern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. They are fan palms (subfamily

Coryphoideae The Coryphoideae is one of five subfamilies in the palm family, Arecaceae. It contains all of the genera with palmate leaves, excepting ''Mauritia'', ''Mauritiella'' and ''Lepidocaryum,'' all of subfamily Calamoideae, tribe Lepidocaryeae, subtr ...

), with the

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

with a bare petiole terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflets. The leaf bases produce persistent

fibres Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate ...

that often give the trunk a characteristic hairy appearance. All species are

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

, with male and female flowers produced on separate plants although female plants will sometimes produce male flowers, allowing occasional self-pollination.

Cultivation and uses

The most common species in cultivation is ''

Trachycarpus fortunei ''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. Description Growing to tall, ''Trachyca ...

'' (Chusan palm or windmill palm), which is the northernmost cultivated palm species in the world. Cities as far north as

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

and

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

have long term cultivated palms in several areas. The dwarf form popularly known as ''T. wagnerianus'' is unknown in the wild, and is now considered synonymous with ''T. fortunei'' Flora of China
''Trachycarpus fortunei''
/ref> or treated as a

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

of that species. It resembles ''T. fortunei'' closely, differing only in its smaller and stiffer leaves. Hybrids between the two are intermediate in size and fully fertile. ''

Trachycarpus takil ''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. Distribution The palm tree is native to the Kumaon d ...

'' (the

Kumaon Kumaon or Kumaun may refer to: * Kumaon division, a region in Uttarakhand, India * Kumaon Kingdom, a former country in Uttarakhand, India * Kumaon, Iran, a village in Isfahan Province, Iran * , a ship of the Royal Indian Navy during WWII See also ...

palm) is similar to ''T. fortunei'' and probably even hardier. Other species less common in cultivation are ''T. geminisectus'', ''T. princeps'', ''T. latisectus'', ''T. martianus'', ''T. nanus'' and ''T. oreophilus''. ''Trachycarpus martianus'' and ''T. latisectus'' do not tolerate cold as well as ''T. fortunei'' or ''T. takil''. ''Trachycarpus geminisectus'', ''T. princeps'' and ''T. oreophilus'' are still too rare and small in cultivation to assess their full potential. Two additional species have been described recently: ''Trachycarpus'' ''ukhrulensis'' from

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

and ''T. ravenii'' from

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

; the former is known from cultivation as ''Trachycarpus'' sp. "Manipur" or ''Trachycarpus'' sp. "Naga Hills". The trunk fibres produced by the leaf sheaths of ''Trachycarpus fortunei'' are harvested in China and elsewhere to make coarse but very strong

rope A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly ...

brooms A broom (also known in some forms as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. I ...

and

brushes A brush is a common tool with bristles, wire or other filaments. It generally consists of a handle or block to which filaments are affixed in either a parallel or perpendicular orientation, depending on the way the brush is to be gripped durin ...

. This use gives rise to the old alternative name "hemp-palm". The fibrous leaf sheaths are also frequently used to clothe the 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 In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

and are the hardiest trunking palms. ''Trachycarpus'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

species including ''

Paysandisia archon ''Paysandisia archon'' is a moth of the family Castniidae. It is native to Uruguay and central Argentina and has been accidentally introduced to Europe, where it is spreading rapidly. It is considered the only member of the genus ''Paysandisia''. ...

'' (recorded on ''T. fortunei'').

Species

References

Bibliography

*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.

External links

WCSP, World checklist of Palms: ''Trachycarpus''Flora of China: ''Trachycarpus'' species listFlora of Nepal: ''Trachycarpus'' species listPACSOA: ''Trachycarpus''
fro
Palm & Cycad Societies of Florida
{{Taxonbar, from=Q157364 Arecaceae genera Dioecious plants