Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Arecales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Rhapidophyllum hystrix
FAMILY
Arecaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rhapidophyllum hystrix
FAMILY
Arecaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Rhapidophyllum hystrix
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Rhapidophyllum hystrix
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Rhapidophyllum hystrix
COMMON NAME:
Needle Palm, Blue Palmetto
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm100313_047
March Gadsden County FL
Angus Gholson Nature Park
Leaves spiraling, projecting upward and outward from stem, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm100313_049
March Gadsden County FL
Angus Gholson Nature Park
Leaves fan-shaped, segments faintly corrugated; petioles 3-angled, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm100313_054
March Gadsden County FL
Angus Gholson Nature Park
Stem underground for some time, eventually erect or leaning, to 1.5m tall, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
COMPARE
Palm and Palmetto species
)
JK Marlow s100313_ab
March Gadsden County FL
Angus Gholson Nature Park
Sharp spines project from petiole base, from stolons, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm160915_079
September Beaufort County SC
Spring Island
)
JK Marlow jkm160915_082
September Beaufort County SC
Spring Island
)
JK Marlow jkm160915_083
September Beaufort County SC
Spring Island
)
JK Marlow jkm160915_085
September Beaufort County SC
Spring Island
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Rhapidophyllum hystrix
FAMILY
Arecaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rhapidophyllum hystrix
FAMILY
Arecaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Rhapidophyllum hystrix
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Rhapidophyllum hystrix
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Rhapidophyllum hystrix
1213
Shrub
Perennial
Habitat: Moist to wet soils of small blackwater stream swamps, especially where underlain with coquina limestone ("marl"), hydric hammocks and rich, wetland-upland transitions, per Weakley's Flora
Native to South Carolina & Georgia
Common in GA Coastal Plain (rare elsewhere in GA & SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Leaf sheaths with long (10-50cm) needle-like spines
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Palmately compound (or weakly costapalmate)
Alternate, spirally arranged
FLOWER:
Spring
Yellowish
Radially symmetrical
3 sepals
3 petals
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Red
Drupe
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p394
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p091
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p427
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p068
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p052
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p284
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
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