Chuniophoenix nana

Family: Arecaceae    Palm Tree

Common Name: None known

Scientific Synonymy:
Chuniophoenix humilis

Cold Hardiness Zone: 9b     View the UK and US zone maps

Chuniophoenix nana Information

A clump-forming, small, water-loving, moderately fast growing, monoecious, forest understorey palm. Rare in cultivation and locally common in the wild. It has rough, brown stems, 1.5 m. (4.9 ft.) tall, 2 cm. (0.8 inch) diameter with no obvious leaf scars, and small segmented, palmate (fan) leaves, .2 m. (0.7 ft.) long, .2 m. (0.7 ft.) wide, green above and beneath.

This plant is suitable as a houseplant or conservatory plant.

Chuniophoenix nana can survive freezing temperatures to about -3.8°C (25°F), but freezing is best avoided. It naturally occurs in wet rainforest or seasonally wet forest in montane locations. In this type of natural environment temperature fluctuations are slight, and this palm prefers a constantly cool or mild climate with little temperature difference between day & night, and Summer & Winter. Under extreme freezing conditions we recommend you keep this palm as dry as possible, and well wrapped up.

Identification

A very attractive, small, suckering fan palm to about 1.5m tall, with stems/canes of about 2cm diameter and costapalmate leaves of around 35 cm diameter. It has hermaphroditic or bi-sexual flowers borne on intra-foliar inflorescences. It has clusters of orange-red fruits.

Species information currently being revised.

Distribution

Native to: China, Vietnam