Palms   Licuala dasyantha

Conservation Status: Vulnerable Synonymy: This palm previously went under the (incorrect) name of Licuala radula . Distribution & Habitat: Tropical and subtropical moist lowland rainforest in Vietnam, and the southern Chinese provinces of Guangxi and Yunnan. Description: A small, clumping palmate palm to about 2m (6ft) tall, with very attractive mottled leaves. Previously thought to be a dioecious (having separate male and female plants) palm, it has now found to be monoecious (having separate male and female reproductive units on the same plant) The inflorescence is spicate as a juvenile but becomes branched as it matures so it was thought that there were male and female plants seeing as there were two different inflorescence however, a single inflorescence will hold both male and female flowers. General: A very desirable collectors palm, altho the mottling isn't quite as highly developed as in its cousin, Licuala sp. 'Mapu'. Cultivation: Warm, sheltered and moist, altho it can take temperatures down to 0°C for very short periods. Figure 2. L. dasyantha leaf. Figure 1. L. dasyantha leaf. Figure 3. L. dasyantha leaf. Figure 4. L. dasyantha leaf. Figure 5. L. dasyantha infructescence. Contributed by: Luke Nancarrow (Figure 1) Clayton York, Utopia Palms and Cycads (Figure 2,3,4&5). For further information try Monocot Checklist Palm Web