Product Description
Habitat and Distribution
Endemic to the Mascarene Island of Rodriguez, where it is threatened by habitat loss. Rodrigues is a semi-autonomous island part of the Republic of Mauritius in the Mascarene archipelago.
Description
Size: Slowly up to 40 feet (12 m) to 16 feet in diameter (5 m). Leaf: Palmate, 8 to 24 Petiole and veins yellow, Yellow colored, armed leafstems wth wool and wax at the bottom. Trunk: Gray, lightly ringed, swollen base, 10 inches in diameter (25 cm). Flower: Flower stalk coming from among the leaves, 3 to 6 feet long 0.9 to 1.8 m). Fruit: brownish green. 2 inches long (5 cm). plum shaped. Seed: round at one end, pointed at the other. Editing by edric.
Culture
Temperature: 30°F (-1°C). Water Requirements: Regular water. Sun Requirements: Full sun. Germination: Easily from seeds. This sun-loving palm needs excellent drainage and will survive in warm temperate to subtropical areas. Male and female trees are needed to get fertile seeds. The seeds germinate with in two to four months and each fruit contains one to three seeds.
Comments and Curiosities
This is a dioecious genus.
Latania is a genus of three species native to the Mascarene Islands. They are easy and satisfying to grow; they are not fussy; and they will grow in a range of warmer climates. They are easily distinguishable, especially when young, by the color of the petioles for which they are named. With its glossy yellow petioles and leaf margins and more lax leaves than the other species, Latania verschaffeltii is surely the most stunning in this small genus. (RPS.com)
