Eden

Penang Botanic Gardens Plant Collection

Dypsis madagascariensis (Becc.) Beentje & J.Dransf. (ARECACEAE)

Posted at — Nov 13, 2019
Malagasy Palm, Butterfly Palm

Description

Solitary, sometime close clustering feather-leafed palm to 8 m tall, c. 15 cm diameter. Stem base sometimes swollen. Crown shaft greyish to white. Leaves to 3 m long, leaflets irregularly spaced arranged in groups in several planes giving a plumose appearance. Inflorescence growing just below the crown shaft, much branched. Fruits ovoid, c. 1.6 cm long, brown when ripe.


Ecology

Dry open areas of semi-deciduous forest.

Distribution

Endemic in N. Madagascar.

Uses

Widely cultivated as an ornamental.