palms – LE PALMS

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Greening Deserts and Leipzig Palms Cultivating Rare Palm Trees

Greening Deserts projects like Leipzig Palms (LE Palms) do not conservating and cultivating just endangered plants like rare trees. Beautiful decorative and ornamental palm trees are another speciality.

We care for endangered animals and plants around the world. Show some love and support our projects by constructive feedback or by buying some palms or palm products. http://www.lepalms.shop

Bismarckia (Bismarck Palm Tree) is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family endemic to western and northern Madagascar where they grow in open grassland. The genus is named for the first chancellor of the German Empire Otto von Bismarck and the epithet for its only species, Bismarckia nobilis, comes from Latin for ‘noble’.

Bismarckia nobilis grows from solitary trunks, gray to tan in color, which show ringed indentations from old leaf bases. Trunks are 30 to 45 cm in diameter, slightly bulging at the base, and free of leaf bases in all but its youngest parts. In their natural habitat they can reach above 25 meters in height but usually get no taller than 12 m in cultivation. The nearly rounded leaves are enormous in maturity, over 3 m wide, and are divided to a third its length into 20 or more stiff, once-folded segments, themselves split on the ends. The leaves are induplicate and costapalmate, producing a wedge-shaped hastula where the blade and petiole meet. Petioles are 2–3 m, slightly armed, and are covered in a white wax as well as cinnamon-colored caducous scales; the nearly-spherical leaf crown is 7.5 m wide and 6 m tall. Most cultivated Bismarckias feature silver-blue foliage although a green leaf variety exists (which is less hardy to cold). These palms are dioecious and produce pendent, interfoliar inflorescences of small brown flowers which, in female plants, mature to a brown ovoid drupe, each containing a single seed.

Found only in Madagascar, an island well known for its rich diversity of unique taxa, Bismarckia is one genus among a diverse palm flora (some 170 palms of which 165 are solely in Madagascar). They grow in the plains of the central highlands, nearly reaching the western and northern coasts, in savannas of low grass, usually in lateritic soil. As much of this land has been cleared with fire for agricultural use, Bismarckias, along with other fire-resistant trees like Ravenala madagascariensis and Uapaca bojeri, are the most conspicuous components of this arid region.

Bismarck palms are grown throughout the tropics and subtropics under favorable microclimates. They are planted in several areas of Florida in the United States, as well as in a few areas of Southern California, and southern Arizona. It is also grown in many parts of Indonesia and Australia. Bismarck palms will suffer from cold damage but they quickly recover. The green variety is more cold sensitive than is the silver-gray variety. The green variety is damaged at 32 °F (0°), but the silver-gray variety will tolerate 28 °F (−3 °C) and will recover from 23 °F (−6 °C). While Bismarckia tolerate some drought, they thrive in areas with adequate rainfall. Because of their massive crowns, they need plenty of room in a landscape area.

Bismarck palms are easy to grow in the right environment as they are adaptable to a wide range of soils and prefer to have good drainage as the Bismarck does not like to have root rot. The Bismarck palm can adapt to either acidic or alkaline soil and prefers to be watered directly into the root system or sprayed through the palm heart. When planting the Bismarck palm make sure to not to cover up any part of the trunk, as this will lead to problems as the Bismarck palm is susceptible to be eaten by microorganisms that live naturally in soil and other mediums.

Source: Wikipedia

Palms or palm trees can be used for professional agriculture (ecofarming) and diverse forestry in dry and barren landscapes. Many palms are very drought- and heat-resistent. They can protect (by dropping shadow and holding water) other smaller plants around, for example crops or young trees. Greening Deserts and Leipzig Palms refer to some palms as ‘protectors and wards from the desert’. They are also good to improve the climate and cool down whole cities or urban areas. We therefore recommend palm trees not only for German or European opencast mining areas (open pit deserts), but also for the reform of agriculture and forestry.

Africa, Conservation, Culture, Environment, Europe, Germany, News, Nursery, Palms, Sustainability

Cultivating Endangered Palm Tree Species from Africa

Cultivating endangered palm species from Africa and Madagascar. Today we report about the situtation and how to protect endangered species from extinction, for example by promoting and sharing important information and seeds for cultivation. You can order now different Madagascar palms, cuttings or young plants and seeds by eMail or eBay. We can ship worldwide and in Europe for lower shipping costs.

Dypsis madagascariensis is a species of flowering plant in the Arecaceae family. The palm of Madagascar is threatened by habitat loss. Dypsis madagascariensis is endemic to northern and western Madagascar. Dypsis madagascariensis occurs in moist rainforest and semi-deciduous forest up to 650 m altitude. It can be found in drier forest than most other Dypsis species, even in gullies and ravines in dry bushland. It is cultivated as an ornamental in many tropical countries. Locally it has become naturalized, e.g. in Panama. In Madagascar the wood is commonly used for floorboards of houses. The palm heart is an excellent vegetable and the fruits are edible. The palm is an attractive ornamental. The wood is very hard because of an outer layer of tough fibres. The felling intensity of Dypsis madagascariensis trees is locally high, but usually only mature trees are cut, which gives them some time to reproduce by seed. In many areas, regeneration is fair. However, as is the case with most other Dypsis spp. in Madagascar, the population of Dypsis madagascariensis has much declined as a result of forest destruction, and in national parks illegal cutting is still practised.

Dypsis comprises about 140 species, all endemic to Madagascar except 2 occurring in the Comoros and 1 on Pemba Island. The name Dypsis madagascariensis (Becc.) Beentje & J.Dransf. (1995) may be illegitimate because of the existence of Dypsis madagascariensis (Mart.) G.Nicholson (1885), which is a synonym of Areca madagascariensis Mart. Several other large-sized Dypsis species are cut for their timber used in house building, but most of these are very rare or have a very restricted distribution. The stems of some smaller-sized species are used to make blowpipes, fishtraps and bird cages. The fruits of Dypsis madagascariensis are eaten by lemurs, which disperse the seeds. The palm can grow up to 18 m tall with solitary trunk or 2–4 trunks clustering in clumps, up to 30 cm in diameter; crown shaft green, white waxy.

It is unlikely that sustainable and economically interesting production of timber and palm heart is possible from the remaining wild stands of Dypsis madagascariensis. Protection of the species has become a major concern. Its importance as an ornamental palm will probably still increase. Nursery, conservation and environmental protection projects like Greening Deserts and LE Palms (Leipzig Palms) supporting the recultivation and protections of endangered species, not just palms. We also cultivating different Baobab and mammoth trees.

Sources:

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/38543/0

https://www.iucn.org/content/madagascar’s-palms-near-extinction

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0103684

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/13/madagascar-mass-extinction-plants-kew-gardens

https://theconversation.com/the-loss-of-madagascars-unique-palm-trees-will-devastate-ecosystems-78622

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Leipzig Palms Cultivating Foxtail Palms from Australia

Leipzig Palms (LE Palms) will cultivate and research palms from all continents, especially palms for deserts, savannahs and other dry lands or wastelands. So we can improve the desert greening process, conservation, regeneration, reforestation and revegetation in dry and barren landscapes. Help us to reduce the worldwide desertification, global warming and land degradation. @Greening Coasts, Greening Deserts, Green Ring Africa,..

Today we present Wodyetia bifurcata, the foxtail palm. We have one year palms, you can order now in our palm shop. http://www.LEPalms.shop

The foxtail palm is endemic to a remote area in Queensland, Australia on the Cape York Peninsula where they grow in rocky and flooded scrubland. Usually found in sandy, acidic soils, they grow from sea level to 400 m in elevation. Queensland, Australia, N.E. Queensland, confined to the southwest, south and southeast sides of Melville Range, latitude 14˚ 17′ S, longitude 144˚ 28′ E.

Biology And Ecology: Wodyetia occurs in open woodland communities consisting of rain forest elements in coarse, loose granite sand, among huge granite boulders, with the main canopy being the palms themselves. Other tree species associated with it are low forms of Ficus obliqua, F. benjamina (semi-creeping), Buchanania arborescens, Polyalthia nitidissima, Myristica insipida, Diospyros reticulata var. ferrea, Cryptocarya bidwilli, and vines Capparis sp., Cissus sp. It extends 1-2 km, downstream, along open forest creeks at the foot of the granite boulder hills. Here it may be found amongst Eucalyptus polycarpa, E. drepanophylla, Cochlospermum gillvrayei and Bombax ceiba forest. It appears to be absent from dense closed forest communities in the area. In these communities the palm Archontophoenix alexandrae is a prolific upper canopy species. Altitude range is 60-400 m a.s.l. Climatic conditions have a strong seasonally dry component, with drought stress likely to be significant for six months of the year. Annual rainfall is reckoned to be about 1400-1600 mm, confined mainly to 3-4 months of the year, DecemberMarch (Summer Wet). Mature fruit is present in October-December, open flowers are likely to be found in December and February. Seed germinates in 2-3 months, coinciding with the wet season, but sporadic germination continues for at least 14 months. (Irvine, A. 1983)

Wodyetias have proven highly adaptable, and are grown in suitable climates all over the world, in places as varied as Miami, Los Angeles, Bermuda, Durban, Honolulu, Sydney, Auckland, Cape Town and Corsica. In Southern California, Wodyetias are best started in the ground from relatively large plants, the bigger the better. Little baby plants will survive, but often disappoint. Full sun is best, plus well-drained soil. No ph issues known. Once established will grow fast, though not as fast as in more humid climates.

Asia, Conservation, Conservation, Environment, Europe, Germany, News, Nursery, Palms, Sustainability

Leipzig Palms Cultivating Livistona Fan Palms

Leipzig Palms cultivating Livistona chinensis. With a special palm greenhouse we can cultivate also other famous tropical or subtropical palms in future.

Livistona is a genus of palms (family Arecaceae), native to southern, southeastern and eastern Asia, Australasia, and the Horn of Africa. They are fan palms, the leaves with an armed petiole terminating in a rounded, costapalmate fan of numerous leaflets. Livistona is closely related to the genus Saribus, and for a time Saribus was included in Livistona. Recent studies, however, have advocated separating the two groups.

Chinese fan palms (Livistona chinensis) have larger fan-shaped fronds than their close relatives, the Australian fan palms (Livistona australis). Pronounced are the overhanging leaf tips that have earned the nickname “fountain palm” for these world-famous palm trees, also called Lifingston palms or Livstonien, are among the fan palms: they have round fronds whose edges are cut to about two-thirds of their maximum 1 m in diameter and are thus unfolded in many tips. The strains are quite slender compared to other fan palms, the annual increase is moderate. The Trunk is up to 15 m tall, 20-30 cm in diam. breast high, leaf scars obscure, roughened and with remnant tissue, light coloured, internodes narrow, irregular, brown to grey with age, petiole stubs not persistent, longitudinal fissures prominent. In their Eastern Australian home, these umbrella palms grow in humid rainforests on always moist soil. Accordingly, they appreciate in this country sunny to partly sunny places with regular watering. They tolerate short-term frost.

The Chinese fan palm is not particular about soil. Fertilize twice a year in spring and summer with a good quality slow release fertilizer that contains micro-nutrients. Light: fLikes direct sun and bright situations. Young plants look better when grown in part shade. Moisture: This palm forms a long tap root and can survive extended periods of drought. Provide adequate moisture for more rapid growth. This palm may be hardier than Zone 8. Sheltered some palms survived temperatures as low as 15 degrees. They also seem resistant to the fungus diseases that attacked other “semi-hardy” palms after sustaining cold damage. Propagation: By seed. If kept warm they will germinate in about 2 months time. USDA Hardiness, zone: 9B.

Livistona chinensis; the genus is named for the baron of Livingston and the species name chinensis is Latin for ‘of China’.

There are following species:
Livistona alfredii F.Muell. – Australia: Western Australia
Livistona australis (R.Br.) Mart. – Cabbage-tree Palm – Australia: New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria
Livistona benthamii F.M.Bailey – Australia: Queensland, Northern Territory; New Guinea
Livistona boninensis (Becc.) Nakai – Bonin Islands
Livistona carinensis (Chiov.) J.Dransf. & Uhl – Djibouti, Somalia, Yemen
Livistona chinensis (Jacq.) R.Br. ex Mart. – Chinese Fan Palm – Japan: South and Ryukyu Islands, China: Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan; naturalized in South Africa, Java, New Caledonia, Hawaii, Micronesia, Florida, Dominican Republic, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and various island in the Indian Ocean
Livistona concinna Dowe & Barfod – Australia: Queensland
Livistona decora (W.Bull) Dowe – Australia: Queensland
Livistona drudei F.Muell. ex Drude – Australia: Queensland
Livistona eastonii C.A.Gardner – Australia: Western Australia
Livistona endauensis J.Dransf. & K.M.Wong – Peninsular Malaysia
Livistona exigua J.Dransf. – Brunei
Livistona fulva Rodd – Australia: Queensland
Livistona halongensis – Ha Long Bay Islands in Vietnam
Livistona humilis R.Br. – Australia: Northern Territory
Livistona inermis R.Br. – Australia: Northern Territory, Queensland
Livistona jenkinsiana Griff. – Bhutan, India: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam; Myanmar, Thailand, China: Hainan, Yunnan
Livistona lanuginosa Rodd – Australia: Queensland
Livistona lorophylla Becc. – Australia: Northern Territory, Western Australia
Livistona mariae F.Muell. – Central Australian Fan Palm – Australia: Northern Territory
Livistona muelleri F.M.Bailey – Australia: Queensland; New Guinea
Livistona nasmophila Dowe & D.L. Jones – Australia: Western Australia
Livistona nitida Rodd – Carnarvon Fan Palm – Australia: Queensland
Livistona rigida Becc. – Australia: Northern Territory, Queensland
Livistona saribus (Lour.) Merr. ex A. Chev. – Indochina, Malaysia, Borneo, Java, Philippines; naturalized in Polynesia, China: Guangdong, Yunnan
Livistona speciosa Kurz – Kho – Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia, Bangladesh, southern China
Livistona tahanensis Becc. – Pahang in Malaysia
Livistona victoriae Rodd – Australia: Western Australia, Northern Territory

Source: Palmpedia, Wikipedia

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Leipzig Palms Cultivating Exotic and Endangered Tropical Palms

LE Palms (Leipzig Palms) cultivating also exotic and tropical palms, especially rare and endangered species. Together with Greening Deserts we want to cultivate also palms of the Red List which are in danger of extinction. For this work we need greenhouses and any support. That’s why we want to build a special greenhouse in the upcoming greening and research camp in the surface mining landscape nearby Leipzig in Saxony. If all runs good and we get finally financial support for this and other important conservation work we maybe can start on site with first preperations still this year.

We found many good and unused places around the lakes (Lakeland Neuseenland). At Cospudener, Markkleeberger and Zwenkauer lake is enough place for a first camp. We informed all responsibles many times and asked for free places, but got no concrete offers. Our demands or requests are still running and we hope to get finally concrete offers for possible places at the lakes. We need a place nearby the camp not just because of the palm cultivation, but also because of water research and the research on better irrigation methods and how to improve the waters or water quality – also for the important research of water plants. Everything is described and explained extensively on the Greening Deserts projects pages.

We already cultivating some rare palms, they growing very good here in Germany. Spring, summer and autumn are hot enough. Today we want to present one rare palm species which is well know because of their hearts of palm. The palm is a perfect houseplant and can be grown indoors.

Euterpe edulis, also Jussarapalme or Juçarapalme, is a palm species native in South America, which strong by the extraction of the palm hearts was decimated.

The species forms single strains, rarely is it multi-stemmed and then with few strains. The trunks are upright, 5 to 12 m high at one Diameter of 10 to 15 cm. The trunk surface is usually gray of lichen, at the base is a reddish-brown cone of adventitious roots. These have a diameter of 1 to 2 cm. The crown consists of 8 to 15 pinnate leaves. The leaf sheath is 0.8 to 1.4 m long, olive to dark green, sometimes with a reddish or orange tone. The surface is bare or covered with reddish-brown scales. The petiole is 13 to 54 cm long. The rhachis is 1.5 up to 3 m long. On each side sit 38 to 62 (rarely 70) leaflets. They are overhanging or hanging, almost opposite, regular arranged and provided with a clear midrib. The lowest Fieder is 29 to 50 cm long, the middle 49 to 80 cm and the Fieder the top 15 to 35 cm…

Euterpe edulis occurs on the Atlantic coast of Brazil and neighboring regions: Alagoas, Bahia, Federal District, Espírito Santo, Goias, Minas Gerais, Paraiba, Parana, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Sao Paulo and Sergipe. The area still includes the northeast of Argentina (Misiones) and the southeast of Paraguay (Department of Alto Paraná). The species grows in Rainforests on rather steep slopes, rarely on flooded sites. It occurs up to heights of 1000 m. On slopes and ridges can they form dense stands, especially over quartzite and on sandy soils. It also colonizes disturbed forest locations.

Euterpe edulis was for many years the most important supplier of palm hearts. In 1965, Paraguay exported 3205 tons of palm hearts, causing destruction of millions of palm trees. Between 1968 and 1970, Brazil exported an average of 2650 tons of palm hearts. The palm hearts were all derived from wild growing stocks. The stocks of Euterpe edulis therefore declined sharply, and use shifted Euterpe oleracea. Rather subordinate is the use of logs as lumber, roofing sheets and fruits for juicing.

Source: Wikipedia

Conservation, Culture, Europe, Germany, News, Palms, Sustainability

Palms Coffee for more Diversity in the Coffee Culture

LE Palms (Leipzig Palms) is proud to announce the world’s first official project and platform for a complete new coffee genre and market. The innovative project Palms Coffee in German PalmenKaffee will test and produce different coffee sorts and palm ingredients like coconut milk, dates and other palm fruits to create new coffee creations. It’s a complete new universe of coffee pleasure. Join the evolution of the coffee culture. For more creativity and diversity! www.palmscoffee.com

Coffee culture is art and peace culture. – Oliver G. C.

Conservation, Environment, Environment, Europe, Germany, News, Palms, Sustainability

Leipzig Palms Improving Air Quality and Reducing Global Warming

Leipzig Palms (LE Palms) don’t just cultivating rare and endangered palms of the red list. We cultivating also palms for better air quality and for a more diverse environment. Diversity, conservation and environmental protection with palms are possible, especially in extreme environments like in dry and barren landscapes. Palms can filter the air from different toxic substances and cool down urban areas and bigger cities which heating up very much. More and more droughts coming to Europe because of the human-made climate change and the resulting extreme weather. Together with Greening Deserts projects we want to reduce the global warming on a significant level.

Phoenix roebelenii, with common names of pygmy date palm, miniature date palm or just robellini, is a species of date palm native to southeastern Asia, from southwestern China (Yunnan Province), northern Laos and northern Vietnam.

The dwarf date palm is a multi-stemmed palm, in culture it remains sometimes with one stem. It forms clumps where stemless shoots grow around the base of higher trunks. The trunk becomes 1 to 2, rarely up to 3 m high. The diameter is up to 10 cm without sheaths. The trunk is upright or twisted, bright, becoming smooth in old age. He is occupied with diamond-shaped leaf bases.

The leaves are arched, 1 to 1.5, rarely 2 m long. The pseudostiel is about 50 cm long. The leaf sheath is reddish brown and fibrous. The acanthophylls (pinnae turned into thorns) are solitary or paired, about 12 on each side of the rhachis. They are orange-green and up to 8 cm long. The leaflets are regular, opposite, about 25 to 50 on each side of the rachis. They are linear, deep green to 40 cm long and 1.2 cm wide.

Barrow argued in 1998 that, because of the small area of distribution and the collection of wild plants for trade, a classification as vulnerable was warranted. However, the IUCN does not lead the species in its Red List. The Dwarf Date Palm is a popular ornamental plant in Europe. It can be found worldwide in botanical gardens and private collections.

The plant purifies the air of formaldehyde, xylenes and toluene.

Source: Wikipedia

Conservation, Environment, Europe, Germany, News, Nursery, Palms, Sustainability

Conservation Diversity and Environmental Protection

Conservation, diversity and environmental protection is very important for LE Palms (Leipzig Palms). Not just to protect and to cultivate endangered palm species of the red list, but also to research and to trade with usefull crops or palm products. Like Greening Deserts we care a lot the Animal Rights and Human Rights, a healthy and diverse environment is a part of it. Palms are good to cool down urban areas and hot cities, especially for dry or barren (asphalt or concrete) places. They can grow under extreme conditions like less light or high temperatures where other plants would go down. They noticeably improve the city climate.

Palms or palm fruits are food for insects and animals like birds – not just date palms. It is possible to integrate many different palm species for each environment and region in Europe. Of course we can check which will best suit, so that it will be a balanced flora. It would be nice to have a real palm garden similar like the Palmengarten in Leipzig Lindenau, more palm gardens or palm parks in Germany or Europe would be great. That’s why Leipzig Palms have initiated this European palm initiative or movement, we want to inspirate the people, especially for creative city developments and sustainable urban planning. Urban areas are artificial landscapes and need more real natural places like the city forest in Leipzig. Wildlife and wildlife sanctuaries are important, too. All these thematics are treated extensively on Greening Deserts, for example in the master plans and studies. Each constructive feedback and support is always welcome.

Together with Greening Deserts we could change or transform the old Palmgarden in Leipzig into a botanical garden or botanical park without borders – an open place and space like it’s actually.

Conservation, Environment, Europe, Germany, News, Nursery, Palms

Sabal and Palmetto Dwarf Palms

We cultivate also another dwarf palms like Sabal minor, because some palmetto palms are very resistent to heat and coldness. Hardy and robust palms are a speciality of LE Palms (Leipzig Palms).

Sabal minor, commonly known as the dwarf palmetto, is a small species of palm. It is native to the deep southeastern and south-central United States and northeastern Mexico. It is naturally found in a diversity of habitats, including maritime forests, swamps, floodplains, and occasionally on drier sites. It is often found growing in calcareous marl soil. Sabal minor is one of the most frost and cold tolerant among North American palms.

This palm’s native range spans on the Atlantic Coast from central Florida north to Monkey Island, North Carolina. On the Gulf Coast, it spans from central Florida to central Texas, Arkansas, north to southern Kansas, then south in the State of Nuevo León in Mexico.

The dwarf palmetto grows up to 1 m (rarely 3 m) in height, with a trunk up to 30 cm diameter. It is a fan palm (Arecaceae tribe Corypheae), with the leaves with a bare petiole terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflets. Each leaf is 1.5–2 m long, with 40 leaflets up to 80 cm long, conjoined over half of this length. The flowers are yellowish-white, 5 mm across, produced in large compound panicles up to 2 m long, extending out beyond the leaves. The fruit is a black drupe 1–1.3 cm long containing a single seed.

Sabal minor is one of the most cold hardy palms, second only to the needle palm, Rhapidophyllum hystrix. It is leaf hardy to near 0 F/-18 C, and has been known to survive brief periods of -5 F temperatures. It is generally cultivated in subtropical and warm temperate climates, however it needs hot and humid summers (tropical summer conditions) to grow well.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabal_minor

Africa, Conservation, Environment, Europe, Germany, News, Nursery, Palms

Chamaerops Humilis Fan Palms from Leipzig

LE Palms cultivating Chamaerops humilis and Chamaerops humilis var. cerifera in Leipzig, Germany. Other sorts can be cultivated on demand. It is a great fan palm not just for the mediterranean regions like North Africa and South Europe, it’s also a great palm for urban areans and hot cities. Palms are always good to cool down hot areas and to have more diversity for the urban greening.

Chamaerops is a genus of flowering plants in the palm family Arecaceae. The only currently fully accepted species is Chamaerops humilis, variously called European fan palm or the Mediterranean dwarf palm. It is one of the most cold-hardy palms and is used in landscaping in temperate climates. Apart from the fully accepted Chamaerops humilis, there are a few taxa of unresolved status plus numerous species synonymised under Chamaerops humilis. The species Chamaerops humilis itself has three accepted varieties as follows:

Chamaerops humilis var. argentea André (syn. C. h. var. cerifera) – “Atlas mountain palm” of Northwest Africa. Leaves glaucous.
Chamaerops humilis var. epondraes – Northwest Africa. Leaves glaucous.
Chamaerops humilis var. humilis – Southwest Europe. Leaves green.

There also are at least three cultivars (C. humilis var. humilis ‘Nana’, C. humilis ‘Vulcano’, C. humilis ‘Stella’). C. humilis ‘Vulcano’ is a compact, thornless cultivar. May be silvery, but less so than argentea. The leaves tend to be thicker, and the appearance of the plant is bushier than var. humilis or var. argentea.

Chamaerops humilis is one of only two palm species native to continental Europe, the other being Phoenix theophrasti. It is mainly found in southwestern Europe (Malta, Sicily, Sardinia, over all the Mediterranean coast of Spain and Portugal, central and southern Italy, some parts of the southern Mediterranean coast of France and Monaco, as well as northwest Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia). It is the northernmost naturally occurring palm in the world, with the northernmost standing at Hyères-les-Palmiers, at 43° 07′ N.

Chamaerops humilis is valued in gardening and landscaping in many parts of the world. It is very drought-tolerant once established. It is hardy to −12 °C (10 °F), but does prefer hot summers. It is a very slow-growing plant. The blue form of the species, native to high elevations of the Atlas Mountains, has recently been introduced into the trade and early reports indicate that it may be −12 °C (−22 °F) or more degrees hardier than the green form.

It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamaerops

Tag: palms