Dictyosperma album var. album

Family: Arecaceae    Palm Tree

Common Name: Hurricane Palm

Common Synonymy:
Princess Palm

Cold Hardiness Zone: 10b     View the UK and US zone maps

Dictyosperma album var. album Information

A solitary, medium sized, water-loving, moderately slow growing, monoecious, varying-coloured crownshaft palm. Rare in cultivation and critically endangered in the wild. It has a rough, grey-brown trunk, 9 m. (30 ft.) tall, 15.2 cm. (6 inch) diameter with spaced ring leaf scars, and huge segmented, pinnate (feather) leaves, 3.7 m. (12 ft.) long, 1.5 m. (5 ft.) wide, dark green above and beneath.

When young, the tops of the fronds twist and droop because of the flexible midrib which gives a curving appearance to the leaves.

Dictyosperma album var. album naturally occurs on islands in moist forest, and is heavily effected by the surrounding sea temperatures, which are constant and often form sea mist and cloud. In this type of natural environment temperature fluctuations are slight, and this palm prefers a constantly hot and humid climate with little temperature difference between day & night, and Summer & Winter. This palm will not tolerate cool for very long.

General Information

Native to the Mascarene Islands of Mauritius, Reunion, Rodrigues, and Round Island, where unfortunately it is almost extinct. Naturally grown from sea level to 600m altitude.

Distribution

Distribution information currently being revised.