Photo credit: Michael Lemmon
Livistona chinensis
The Livistona chinensis or the Chinese Fan Palm is one of the majestic palms found in the original Palm House at Baltimore's Rawlings Conservatory.
This slow-growing palm can reach a height of 40 feet with leaves growing over six feet long. Nestled close to the trunk high up in the spread of its fronds is a spray of small yellow flowers that will eventually turn into small, blue-black, olive-like fruits.
It grows naturally in the woodlands of southern China and Japan where natives still use the leaves for making fans. The name of the genus honors Patrick Murray, a 17th-century Scottish nobleman whose plant collection became the Edinburgh Botanic Garden.
Adaptable to zones 9 through 11.