Pholidocarpus macrocarpus
Pholidocarpus macrocarpus
Price on request
Request a quotePholidocarpus macrocarpus, the kepau or Kepang palm, is a very tall fan palm of the freshwater swamp forests of peninsular Thailand, Malaysia and Sumatra, listed as Vulnerable. Its large, deeply cut leaves sit on long stalks armed with stout spines and marked underneath with two yellow stripes.
The name means 'large-fruited': its fruits, 10–12 cm or more across and covered in brown corky warts, are among the biggest of any fan palm in the region. Young plants resemble a large Livistona. It is rare in cultivation.
At a glance
- Native range: peninsular Thailand, Malaysia and Sumatra
- Mature size: 15–30 m
- Water: permanently wet ground; potted plants can stand in trays of water
- Cold hardiness: no frost tolerance; minimum about +2 °C
- Indoors / outdoors: outdoors only in the humid tropics; elsewhere under heated glass
Care
Keep it hot and constantly wet; growers stand young potted plants in trays of water. The leaf stalks carry stout spines.
Why Palmpedia: Every plant is grown in our greenhouse in Almeirim, Portugal, and leaves us in a 15 L to 35 L pot.