Family: Arecaceae
Species: Trachycarpus fortunei (Hook.) H.Wendl.
Common name: Chinese palm
Etymology
The genus name derives from the Greek trachýs (rough) and carpós (fruit), meaning “with rough fruits”; the specific epithet honours the Scottish botanist Robert Fortune (1813–1880), an explorer and plant collector who introduced it to Europe in 1824.
Description
Trachycarpus fortunei is an evergreen palm distinguished by its large, fan-shaped leaves and robust, fibrous trunk. This compact palm has limited growth and reaches a maximum height of about 12 metres. It grows vertically with a very slender appearance. The palm possesses a single, unbranched, columnar trunk measuring 20–25 cm in diameter, typically covered with brown fibres derived from the remains of old foliage. From these fibres, long, hookless stems develop to support the leaves. With age, the trunk may lose its fibres at the base and appear bare and smooth. When the leaves turn yellow, they fold downwards, allowing new leaves to emerge from the centre of the trunk.
The palmate leaves are approximately one metre long and dark green. They are composed of numerous segments that are cut halfway and joined at the base. They develop at the top of the stem, supported by a long, grooved petiole.
Trachycarpus fortunei is a dioecious plant with male and female flowers borne on different palms. In spring, panicle inflorescences appear in the leaf axils, consisting of numerous flowers: the male flowers are yellow, and the female ones are greenish and slightly scented.
The fruits are drupes (fleshy fruits with a woody interior) that are kidney-shaped and range in colour from yellow to black. They are carried in clusters.
Habitat
Native to Eastern Asia, it is indigenous to the mountains of southern China and Burma.
Properties and Uses
This palm has been cultivated for centuries in China and Japan to obtain textile fibres for producing ropes, bags, and very durable clothing.
Notes and Curiosities
Trachycarpus fortunei is a fairly rustic palm that adapts well to a temperate climate and exhibits good cold resistance, making it suitable for garden planting. It is one of the most resistant palms to water stagnation and extreme temperatures, surviving from -10° to -12°C; consequently, it is widely distributed throughout the Po Valley. However, it does not tolerate drought, and regular watering is essential during dry periods.
It takes approximately 20–50 years for the palm to grow and reach its maximum development.
Majestic and characteristic, the specimens of this Chinese palm create a spectacular vegetal contrast in the Heller Garden. They are displayed alongside other palms from various regions, such as Washingtonia filifera (the Californian palm, with crowns up to 4.5 metres wide, now at risk of extinction in its native range); Brahea armata (Mexican blue palm, so named for the silvery-blue colour of its palmate leaves); Xanthorrhoea johnsonii (Australian palm, with needle-like leaves up to 140 cm long that are covered with a waxy substance capable of compacting leaf residues to form an impermeable barrier against air, water and even fire); and Chamaerops humilis (commonly known as St. Peter's palm, an evergreen shrub widespread throughout the Mediterranean).