LADY PALM (RHAPIS PALM)

A delightful fan palm, with large, thick leaves, that are wider than many other palms and blunt tipped. Rhapis excelsa bears rhizome offshoots, leading to clusters of upright stems, perfect for a flourish of lush interior greenery. Thick fibres envelop new stems, these fall away in time to reveal bamboo-like trunks, and give the palm its other common name: Bamboo Palm. Rhapis excelsa is a versatile slow growing palm that adapts extremely well to being grown indoors in a container. It is not fussy about light or humidity, being one of the more shade tolerant palms.

Common name of Rhaphis excelsa is lady palm or miniature fan palm. Small, clump-forming palm with slender, erect, bamboo- or reed-like stems. The long-stalked, deeply lobed, lustrous, dark green leaves, 20-30cm long, each have 3-10 broadly to narrowly lance-shaped, puckered lobes. Tiny, bowl-shaped cream flowers are borne in panicles, to 12cm long, among the leaves, in summer.