Livistona speciosa

Livistona speciosa, the mountain serdang palm, is a tall fan palm of the hill forests of mainland South-East Asia and southern China. A pale grey, columnar trunk carries a dense, rounded head of huge, almost circular leaves, green above and grey beneath, cut only part-way into stiff-tipped segments.

Its fruits ripen a glossy greenish blue. It suits warm-temperate as well as tropical climates but is still seldom planted.

At a glance

• Native range: Bangladesh and Myanmar to Thailand, Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia, southern China and Hainan
• Mature size: to 25 m
• Growth rate: slow
• Light: full sun, introduced gradually to young plants
• Water: keep the soil evenly moist
• Cold hardiness: about −3 °C
• Indoors / outdoors: outdoors in warm-temperate to tropical gardens

Care

Accustom young plants to full sun gradually and keep the soil evenly moist. The leaf stalks are armed with hooked spines, so allow space around paths.

Why Palmpedia: Raised in our Almeirim greenhouse in Portugal and supplied in 15 L to 35 L pots.