Trachycarpus, from Ancient Greek τραχύς (trakhús), meaning "rough", and καρπός (karpós), meaning "fruit", is a genus of ten species of palms native to Asia, from the Himalaya east to eastern China. They are fan palms (subfamily Coryphoideae), with the leaves with a bare petiole terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflets. The leaf bases produce persistent fibres that often give the trunk a characteristic hairy appearance. All species are dioecious, with male and female flowers produced on separate plants although female plants will sometimes produce male flowers, allowing occasional self-pollination.

Cultivation and uses

File:Arecaceae-zhejiang2005.JPG showing leaf base fibres]]

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The most common species in cultivation is Trachycarpus fortunei (Chusan palm or windmill palm), which is the northernmost naturally-growing palm species in the world. Cities as far north as London, Dublin, Paris, Seattle and Vancouver have long term cultivated palms in several areas. The dwarf form, known as T. wagnerianus, is unknown in the wild, and is now considered synonymous with T. fortunei Flora of China: [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200027121 Trachycarpus fortunei]{{GRIN | Trachycarpus fortunei | 36786 | accessdate = 2 January 2018}}{{Cite journal|last1=Gibbons|first1=Martyn|last2=Spanner|first2=Toby|date=2013|title=Trachycarpus in the Wild and in Cultivation|url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/about-the-rhs/publications/magazines/the-plantsman/2013-issues/june/trachycarpus.pdf|journal=The Plantsman |series=New Series|volume=12|pages=100–105}} or treated as a cultivar of that species.{{Cite book|title=The Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms - Second Edition|last1=Riffle|first1=Robert Lee|last2=Craft|first2=Paul|last3=Zona|first3=Scott|publisher=Timber Press|year=2012|isbn=9781604692051|location=Portland, OR}} It resembles T. fortunei closely, differing only in its smaller and stiffer leaves. Hybrids between the two are intermediate in size and fully fertile.

Trachycarpus takil (the Kumaon palm) is similar to T. fortunei and probably even hardier. Other species less common in cultivation are T. geminisectus, T. princeps, T. latisectus, T. martianus, T. nanus and T. oreophilus. Trachycarpus martianus and T. latisectus do not tolerate cold as well as T. fortunei or T. takil. Trachycarpus geminisectus, T. princeps and T. oreophilus are still too rare and small in cultivation to assess their full potential. Two additional species have been described recently: Trachycarpus ukhrulensis from Manipur{{Cite journal|last1=Lorek|first1=Michael|last2=Pradhan|first2=Keshow Chandra|date=2006|title=A new species of Trachycarpus (Arecaceae), with remarks on its unusual habitat|url=https://www.schweizerbart.de/papers/pde/detail/126/52814/A_new_species_of_Trachycarpus_Arecaceae_with_remarks_on_its_unusual_habitat|journal=Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie|language=en|volume=126|issue=4|pages=419–426|doi=10.1127/0006-8152/2006/0126-0419 |url-access=subscription}} and T. ravenii from Laos;{{Cite journal|last1=Averyanov|first1=Leonid V.|last2=Nguyen|first2=Khang Sinh|last3=Nguyen|first3=Tien Hiep|last4=Pham|first4=The Van|last5=Lorphengsy|first5=Shengvilai|date=2014-10-01|title=Trachycarpus ravenii sp. nov. (Arecaceae, Corypheae) from central Laos|journal=Nordic Journal of Botany|language=en|volume=32|issue=5|pages=563–568|doi=10.1111/j.1756-1051.2013.00304.x|issn=1756-1051}} the former is known from cultivation as Trachycarpus sp. "Manipur" or Trachycarpus sp. "Naga Hills".

The trunk fibres produced by the leaf sheaths of Trachycarpus fortunei are harvested in China and elsewhere to make coarse but very strong rope, brooms and brushes. This use gives rise to the old alternative name "hemp-palm". The fibrous leaf sheaths are also frequently used to clothe the stems of artificial palms.{{citation needed|date=December 2011}}

This genus is very popular among palm enthusiasts for its ability to withstand cold, especially in the form of damp, cool summer weather with relatively mild winter weather. These palms often tolerate snow in their native habitats and are the hardiest trunking palms.

Trachycarpus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Paysandisia archon (recorded on T. fortunei).

Species

As of January 2025, the genus Trachycarpus comprises 10 accepted species.{{Cite web |title=Trachycarpus H.Wendl. {{!}} Plants of the World Online {{!}} Kew Science |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:31544-1#children |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=Plants of the World Online |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=WFO Plant List {{!}} World Flora Online |url=https://wfoplantlist.org/taxon/wfo-4000038702-2024-12?page=1 |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=wfoplantlist.org |language=en-GB}}

Image	Scientific name	Height	Distribution
class="wikitable"
120px	Trachycarpus fortunei	{{convert\|10 - 13\|m\|ft}}	China, Japan, Myanmar and India.
	Trachycarpus geminisectus	{{convert\|1-2\|m\|ft}}	Northern Vietnam (and potentially border regions of Guangxi, China){{Cite journal \|last=Gibbons \|first=M \|date=2003 \|title=Trachycarpus geminisectus, the Eight Peaks Fan Palm, a New Species from Vietnam \|url=https://palms.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/vol47n3.pdf \|journal=Palms \|volume=47 \|issue=3 \|pages=143-148}}
	Trachycarpus latisectus	{{convert\|12\|m\|ft}}	Sikkim
120px	Trachycarpus martianus		Assam, China South-Central, East Himalaya, Myanmar, Nepal.
120px	Trachycarpus nanus	{{convert\|0.9\|m\|ft}}	China.
120px	Trachycarpus oreophilus	{{convert\|9\|m\|ft}}	Northwest Thailand, the other{{clarify\|date=April 2024}} in Manipur in northeastern India
120px	Trachycarpus princeps	{{convert\|9\|m\|ft}}	Yunnan in southern central China
	Trachycarpus ravenii	{{convert\|6\|m\|ft}}	Laos
120px	Trachycarpus takil	{{convert\|10-15\|m\|ft}}	Northwestern India, and into adjacent western Nepal
	Trachycarpus ukhrulensis	{{convert\|15\|m\|ft}}	Manipur region in Assam, India.

References

Bibliography

Beccari, O. (1931). Asiatic Palms - Corypheae (ed. U. Martelli). Ann. Roy. Bot. Gard. (Calcutta) 13: 1-356.
Kimnach, M. (1977). The Species of Trachycarpus. Principes 21: 155-160.
Meerow, A. W. (2005). Betrock's Cold Hardy Palms. Betrock Information Systems, Inc., Hollywood, Florida.

External links

[http://www.kew.org/wcsp/qsearch.do?plantName=Trachycarpus&page=quickSearch WCSP, World checklist of Palms: Trachycarpus]
[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=3&taxon_id=133227 Flora of China: Trachycarpus species list]
[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=110&taxon_id=133227 Flora of Nepal: Trachycarpus species list]
[http://www.pacsoa.org.au/palms/Trachycarpus/ PACSOA: Trachycarpus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080801040333/http://www.pacsoa.org.au/palms/Trachycarpus/ |date=2008-08-01 }}
[http://www.plantapalm.com/vpe/palmkey/trachykey/trachykey.htm The Genus Trachycarpus] from [http://www.plantapalm.com Palm & Cycad Societies of Florida]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20060216234622/http://www.scanpalm.no/trachycarpus_english.html Scanpalm - Trachycarpus cultivation in Scandinavia]

Category:Arecaceae genera

Category:Dioecious plants