Scientific Name : Phoenix roebelenii O’Brien
Common Name : Dwarf Date Palm
Chinese Name : 江邊刺葵, 日本葵, 軟葉刺葵
Family : ARECACEAE
Local distribution status : Exotic species
| Origins | Yunnan, China. Also distributed in Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. |
|---|---|
| Applications | Since its stem is slender, sometimes twisted, with soft pendulous leaves, Dwarf Date Palm is enchanting and fascinating. The species is often cultivated as ornamental plants and street trees in urban areas. As its growth does not occupy much space with a limited crown, Dwarf Date Palms are also cultivated in the environment which is comparatively cramped, such as central reservations of road and edges of rail. |
| Meanings of names | As it is a riparian species, meanwhile armed with spine-like pinnae on the lower rachis, hence given the Chinese name “Riparian Spiny Palm (江邊刺葵)”. Since its leaves are soft in texture, therefore it is also named “Soft-leaf Spiny Palm (軟葉刺葵)” in Chinese. The species is classified under the Date Palm genus (Phoenix), with comparatively small size, it was called as “Dwarf Date Palm” in English. Despite the species is also named as “Japanese Palm (日本葵)” in Chinese, it is not originated from Japan. It can be said that the origin of the species is irrelevant to this Chinese common name. |
| Growing habit | Evergreen palm. |
|---|---|
| Height | To 3 m. |
| Roots | Sometimes with exposed roots at the base of stem. |
| Stems | Cultivated individuals often solitary, erect or twisted, slender, lignified, rough in texture, greyish white in colour, with numerous spirally arranged triangular remnant of petiole bases, resembling the scales of reptiles. |
| Leaves | Pinnate, soft in texture. Pinnae linear, 25 to 50 on each side of rachis, with about 12 pairs of fish-bone-like spiny pinnae (acanthophylls) on the lower rachis. |
| Flowers | Inflorescences pendulous in bundles, beige or yellowish white. Like numerous strands of rice. |
| Fruits | Drupe, claret, purplish brown to reddish brown, oblong to obovoid. Reported having the smell of dates. With one seed. |
| Flowering period | April to May in Hong Kong. |
| Fruiting period | June to September in Hong Kong. |
Scientific name above is based on Hong Kong Herbarium website : https://www.herbarium.gov.hk/en/hk-plant-database/plant-detail/index.html?pType=species&oID=3169
Scientific names from other databases
― Flora of China : Phoenix roebelenii O’Brien
― Plants of the World Online : Phoenix roebelenii O'Brien