Scientific Name:
Rhapis excelsa
Pronunciation:
RAY-piss eck-SELL-suh
Common Name:
lady palm
Family Name:
Arecaceae
Plant Type:
Indoor foliage plant
Key ID Features:
Stems clustered, reed-like, course, dark brown fibrous leaf sheaths; leaves alternate and spiraled, deeply divided almost to petiole with (3-)6-9(-14) elliptic leaflet-like segments, most 20-30cm long x 2-3cm wide at centre on indoor plants, margins finely toothed, tips becoming truncate and jagged with age, petiole 10-20cm long.
Habit:
Upright
Form:
Oval - vertical
Texture:
Medium
Mature Height:
1.3 - 2.0m
Mature Spread:
1.5 - 2.0m
Origin:
S.E. Asia / Japan / China (S.W. China)
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 9: (-7 to -1 °C)
Exposure:
Part sun/part shade, Filtered shade, Deep shade
Soil/Growing Medium:
Well-drained
Water Use:
Moderate
Landscape Uses:
Indoor plant
Additional Info:
Google. Plants will grow much taller in soil in warmer climates. Compare to slender lady palm (which has more and narrower leaflets).
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Simple
Arrangement:
Alternate, Spiraled
Texture/Venation:
Leathery, Heavily veined, Parallel venation, Palmate venation
Surfaces:
Lustrous
Colour in Summer:
Green, Many variegated cvs.
Shapes:
Elliptic
Apices:
Acute, Praemorse, Truncate
Bases:
Acute
Margins:
Serrulate
Additional Info:
Deeply divided simple leaves with digits folded lenthwise
Inflorescence Type:
Panicle
Flower Morphology:
Dioecious plant
Colour (petals):
Yellow, Green-yellow, Red
Flower Time at Peak:
May, Jun
Additional Info:
Unlikely to form on potted plants
Fruit Type:
Berry (true)
Fruit Colour:
White
Fruiting Time:
Aug, Sep
Additional Info:
Showy, Unlikely to form on potted plants
Bark or Stem Colour:
Organ Modifications:
Rhizomes
Propagation:
Seed
Optimal Temp.:
Medium
Light Level:
Medium
Maintenance:
Low
Pest Susceptibility:
Abiotic disorder, Fungal leaf spot, Mealybugs, Mites, Scale insects
Specific Pests:
Leaflet tips tend to brown and become truncate
