Mediterranean Fan Palm
| Chamaerops humilis | |
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| Chamaerops humilis var. humilis, , Sicily | |
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| Large monospecific patch of C. humilis in SW Spain. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| (unranked): | Commelinids |
| Order: | Arecales |
| Family: | Arecaceae |
| Subfamily: | Coryphoideae |
| Tribe: | Corypheae |
| Genus: | Chamaerops L. |
| Species: | C. humilis |
| Binomial name | |
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Chamaerops humilis L. |
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Chamaerops is a genus of flowering plants in the palm family Arecaceae. The only currently fully accepted species is Chamaerops humilis, variously called European fan palm, or the Mediterranean dwarf palm. It is one of the most cold-hardy palms used in landscaping in temperate climates.
Apart from the fully accepted Chamaerops humilis there currently are a few species of unresolved status plus tens of species synonymised with Chamaerops humilis. The species Chamaerops humilis itself has three accepted varieties as follows:
There also are at least three cultivars (C. humilis var. humilis 'Nana', C. humilis 'Vulcano', C. humilis 'Stella').C. humilis 'Vulcano' is a compact, thornless cultivar. May be silvery, but less so than argentea. The leaves tend to be thicker, and the appearance of the plant is bushier than var. humilis or var. argentea.
The genus Chamaerops is closely related to the genus Trachycarpus. The genera differ in that Trachycarpus lacks the clumping habit only forms single stems without basal suckers), the spiny leaf stems (spineless in Trachycarpus), and in small details of the flower anatomy.
Chamaerops humilis is a shrub-like clumping palm, with several stems growing from a single base. It has an underground rhizome which produces shoots with palmate, sclerophyllous leaves.
The stems grow slowly and often tightly together, eventually reaching 2–5 m (10–20 ft) tall with a trunk diameter of 20–25 cm (8–10 in). It is a fan palm (Arecaceae tribe Corypheae), and as such, has leaves with petioles terminating in rounded fans of 10–20 leaflets. Each leaf is up to 1.5 m (5 ft) long, with leaflets 50–80 cm (20–30 in) long. The petioles are armed with numerous sharp, needle-like spines; these may protect the stem growing point from browsing animals.
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Wikipedia