Rhapidophyllum hystrix
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Needle Palm
Arecaceae (Palmae)
Plant Specifics
| Form: | Palm | |
| Size: | 6 ft tall by 6 ft wide | |
| Life Span: | Long-lived perennial | |
| Flower Color: | White | |
| Fruit Color: | NA | |
| Phenology: | Evergreen. Flowers in spring (inconspicuous). Fruits ripen in fall. Slow growing. Life span likely 50+ years (Nelson 2003). | |
| Noted for: | Interesting foliage, Thorns |
Landscaping
| Recommended Uses: | Specimen plant, edge, understory shrub. Can be grown in a large container. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Considerations: | Old leaf bases form long stiff spines. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Propagation: | Seed or by division of clumps. It takes determination to dig and divide a large needle palm, but it is relatively easy to transplant the suckers. Seeds germinate in about 6 to 12 months | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Availability: | Native nurseries | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Light: | Part Shade, Shade | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moisture Tolerance: |
always floodedextremely dry |
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| (Usually moist, occasional inundation ----- to ----- Not wet but not extremely dry) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moisture Tolerance: | Usually moist, occasional inundation ----- to ----- Not wet but not extremely dry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salt Water Flooding Tolerance: | Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salt Spray/ Salty Soil Tolerance: | Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Soil or other substrate: | Clay, Loam, Sand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Soil pH: | Acidic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ecology
| Wildlife: |
Provides good wildlife cover. | |
| Insects: | Attracts beetles. | |
| Native Habitats: | Moist-wet sites. Seep slope forests, regularly but shallowly inundated floodplains, seepage swamps especially associated with springs, hydric seepage slopes, and at times, some of the adjacent non-hydric slope, hydric hammock, moist upland bluffs adjacent to rivers. |
Distribution and Planting Zones
Natural Range in Florida
USDA Zones
Suitable to grow in:
10A 8A 8B 9A 9B
USDA zones are based on minimum winter temperatures