Rhopalostylis sapida

Feather duster palm
Rhopalostylis sapida

Native to warm temperate parts of South Island New Zealand, where it is also known as the Nikau palm, this species is the southernmost palm in the world. It takes its popular name from the upright, almost shuttlecock-like arrangement of the elongated leaves, which, with the bulbous swelling that arises at the base of the crown, engenders the ‘feather-duster’ analogy.

Slow-growing in the wild, once the trunk develops (after a minimum of fifteen years), it becomes decorated with distinctive, circular indentations, formed by the ring-like scars left by the bases of its fallen leaves.

This post is part of The World of Palms Glasshouse Trail