Trachycarpus

taxobox
name = "Trachycarpus"


image_caption = "Trachycarpus fortunei" planted in the Italian Alps
regnum = Plantae
unranked_divisio = Angiosperms
unranked_classis = Monocots
unranked_ordo = Commelinids
ordo = Arecales
familia = Arecaceae
subfamilia = Coryphoideae
tribus = Corypheae
genus = "Trachycarpus"
genus_authority = H.Wendl.H.A. Wendland in J. Gay, Bulletin de la Société Botanique de France 8:429. 1863(?) ("1861")]
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = "Trachycarpus fortunei" "Trachycarpus latisectus" "Trachycarpus martianus" "Trachycarpus nanus" "Trachycarpus oreophilus" "Trachycarpus princeps" "Trachycarpus takil"
Trachycarpus wagnerianus|

"Trachycarpus" is a genus of eight species of palms native to Asia, from the Himalaya east to eastern China. They are fan palms (Arecaceae tribe Corypheae), with the leaves with a bare petiole terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflets. The leaf bases produce persistent fibers 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.

Cultivation and uses

The most common species in cultivation is "Trachycarpus fortunei" (Chusan Palm or Windmill Palm), a temperate palm which is , in cultivated range, probably the northernmost palm species in the world, having been successfully grown in such cool and damp but relatively mild locales such as Scotland, southwestern Norway, extreme southwestern Utah ,coastal New Jersey and the panhandle of Alaska . It is frequent in gardens in the United Kingdom and Ireland, along the Atlantic coast of France and northern Spain, in southern Switzerland and northern Italy, and in the Pacific Northwest of North America. The dwarf form known as "Trachycarpus wagnerianus" is unknown in the wild, and is considered to be a synonym of "T. fortunei" (Kew palms checklist). It resembles that species closely, differing mainly in its smaller and much stiffer leaves. Hybrids between them are reportedly intermediate in size and fully fertile.

"Trachycarpus takil" (the Kumaon Palm) is similar to "T. fortunei"; it is probably slightly less tolerant of cold. Other species less common in cultivation are "T. geminisectus", "T. princeps", "T. latisectus", "T. martianus", "T. nanus" and "T. oreophilus". "T. martianus" and "T. latisectus" do not tolerate cold as well as "T. fortunei", "T. takil" or "T. wagnerianus". "T. geminisectus", "T. princeps" and "T. oreophilus" are still too rare and small in cultivation to assess their full potential.

The trunk fibres produced by the leaf sheaths of "Trachycarpus fortunei" are harvested in China and elsewhere to make coarse but very strong rope, brooms and brushes. This use gives rise to the old alternative name "Hemp-palm". The fibrous leaf sheaths are also frequently used to clothe stems of artificial palms.

This genus is very popular among palm enthusiasts for its ability to withstand cold, especially in the form of damp, cool summer weather with relatively mild winter weather. These palms often tolerate snow in their native habitats and are the hardiest trunking palms.

"Trachycarpus" species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including "Paysandisia archon" (recorded on "T. fortunei").

References and external links

reflist
*Beccari, O. (1931). Asiatic Palms - Corypheae (ed. U. Martelli). "Ann. Roy. Bot. Gard". (Calcutta) 13: 1-356.
*Kimnach, M. (1977). The Species of Trachycarpus. "Principes" 21: 155-160.
*Meerow, A. W. (2005). Betrock's Cold Hardy Palms. Betrock Information Systems, Inc., Hollywood, Florida.
* [http://www.kew.org/wcsp/qsearch.do?plantName=Trachycarpus&page=quickSearch Kew palms checklist: "Trachycarpus"]
* [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=3&taxon_id=133227 Flora of China: "Trachycarpus" species list]
* [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=110&taxon_id=133227 Flora of Nepal: "Trachycarpus" species list]
* [http://www.pacsoa.org.au/palms/Trachycarpus/ PACSOA: "Trachycarpus"]
* [http://www.plantapalm.com/vpe/palmkey/trachykey/trachykey.htm The Genus "Trachycarpus"] from [http://www.plantapalm.com Palm & Cycad Societies of Florida]
* [http://www.scanpalm.no/trachycarpus_english.html Scanpalm - Trachycarpus cultivation in Scandinavia]