Martius' fan palm

Description

Trachycarpus martianus (also known as Martius' fan palm) is a species in the genus Trachycarpus from two distinct populations, one at 1,500 m (4,900 ft) in the Khasia Hills, Meghalaya Province, in northeast India, the other at 2,400 m (7,900 ft) in central northern Nepal. Other populations have been reported in Assam, Sikkim, Burma and southern China. The main identifying characteristics are the regular leaf splits (to about half way), the coffee bean shaped seeds (similar looking to Trachycarpus latisectus) and the bare, as opposed to fibrous trunk. The new leaf spear and edges of the petioles are covered with a white tomentum. The species is named after the German botanist Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius (1794-1868). It is used in making Jhapi, a traditional head cover often used to felicitate guests in Assam. Trachycarpus is a genus of eleven species of palms native to Asia, from the Himalaya east to eastern China. They are fan palms (subfamily Coryphoideae), with the leaves with a bare petiole terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflets. The leaf bases produce persistent fibres that often give the trunk a characteristic hairy appearance. All species are dioecious, with male and female flowers produced on separate plants although female plants will sometimes produce male flowers, allowing occasional self-pollination. The most common species in cultivation is Trachycarpus fortunei (Chusan palm or windmill palm), which is the northernmost cultivated palm species in the world. Cities as far north as London, Dublin, Seattle and Vancouver have long term cultivated palms in several areas. The dwarf form popularly known as T. wagnerianus is unknown in the wild, and is now considered synonymous with T. fortunei or treated as a cultivar of that species. It resembles T. fortunei closely, differing only in its smaller and stiffer leaves. Hybrids between the two are intermediate in size and fully fertile. Trachycarpus takil (the Kumaon palm) is similar to T. fortunei and probably even hardier. Other species less common in cultivation are T. geminisectus, T. princeps, T. latisectus, T. martianus, T. nanus and T. oreophilus. Trachycarpus martianus and T. latisectus do not tolerate cold as well as T. fortunei or T. takil. Trachycarpus geminisectus, T. princeps and T. oreophilus are still too rare and small in cultivation to assess their full potential.