Livistona chinensis (Jacq.) R.Br. ex Mart.

ചൈനീസ് ഫാന്‍ പാം

Family : Arecaceae

Synonym : Latania chinensis Jacq.

Common Names : Chinese fan palm, Chinese Fountain Palm

Flowering Period : Throughout the year

Distribution : South China to Vietnam, Temperate East Asia

Habitat : Grown as ornamental plant

Uses : Ornamental. The leaves are used for making fans. They are also used for manufacturing rain hats and coats, brooms etc. The fibers, extracted from the sheath and the petiole of the leaves, are made into cordage.

Key Characters :

Livistona chinensis are trees with solitary stems. Leaves costapalmate, about 20 per crown, leaf blade deeply segmented, tip of the segments deeply forked, with two pendulous tips which form a fringe around the leaf. Petiole slender, basal part with spines on the margins. Inflorescence interfoliar, flowers bisexual. Ripe fruits ovoid, bluish green and glossy.