Lady palms
Rhapis humilis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Subfamily: Coryphoideae
Tribe: Trachycarpeae
Genus: Rhapis
L.f. ex Aiton
Type species
Rhapis excelsa

Rhapis is a genus of about 10 species of small palms native to southeastern Asia from southern Japan and southern China south to Sumatra.[1] The species are commonly known as lady palms. They are fan palms (subfamily Coryphoideae), with the leaves with a bare petiole terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflets. The plants have thin stems growing to 3–4 m tall, branching at the base, forming clumps and are dioecious,[2] with male and female flowers produced on separate plants.

ImageSpeciesDistribution
Rhapis cochinchinensis (Lour.) Mart.Thailand; Laos; Vietnam
Rhapis excelsa (Thunb.) A.HenryChina: Fujian, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Yunnan; Vietnam; naturalized in Thailand; Japan: Ryukyu Islands
Rhapis gracilis BurretChina: Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan; Vietnam
Rhapis humilis BlumeChina: Guangxi, Guizhou; Vietnam; naturalized in Japan and Java
Rhapis micrantha Becc.Laos; Vietnam
Rhapis multifida BurretChina: Guangxi, Yunnan
Rhapis puhuongensis M.S.Trudgen, T.P.Anh & A.J.Hend.Vietnam
Rhapis robusta BurretChina: Guangxi; Vietnam
Rhapis subtilis Becc.Thailand; Laos; Cambodia; Indonesia: Sumatra
Rhapis vidalii Aver., T.H.Nguyên & P.K.LôcVietnam

Cultivation and uses

Several species are cultivated as ornamental plants, of which Rhapis excelsa is the most common. Rhapis excelsa and some other species are relatively cold tolerant and can be grown outdoors in subtropical or warm temperate climates. Rhapis excelsa was listed by NASA as one of the best plants for removing toxins from the air.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. ↑ Henderson, Andrew (2016). "A revision of Rhapis (Arecaceae)". Phytotaxa. 258 (2): 137. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.258.2.3.
  3. ↑ "Plants for Sustainable Living". 2014.


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