OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Arecales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Rhapidophyllum hystrix   FAMILY Arecaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rhapidophyllum hystrix   FAMILY Arecaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Rhapidophyllum hystrix

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America

Rhapidophyllum hystrix

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Rhapidophyllum hystrix

 

COMMON NAME:
Needle Palm, Blue Palmetto


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Rhapidophyllum hystrix, Needle Palm, Blue Palmetto

JK Marlow    jkm100313_047

March    Gadsden County    FL

Angus Gholson Nature Park

Leaves spiraling, projecting upward and outward from stem, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).

image of Rhapidophyllum hystrix, Needle Palm, Blue Palmetto

JK Marlow    jkm100313_049

March    Gadsden County    FL

Angus Gholson Nature Park

Leaves fan-shaped, segments faintly corrugated; petioles 3-angled, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).

image of Rhapidophyllum hystrix, Needle Palm, Blue Palmetto

JK Marlow    jkm100313_054

March    Gadsden County    FL

Angus Gholson Nature Park

Stem underground for some time, eventually erect or leaning, to 1.5m tall, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).


click here to see other plants that look similar to this COMPARE Palm and Palmetto species

image of Rhapidophyllum hystrix, Needle Palm, Blue Palmetto

JK Marlow    s100313_ab

March    Gadsden County    FL

Angus Gholson Nature Park

Sharp spines project from petiole base, from stolons, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).

image of Rhapidophyllum hystrix, Needle Palm, Blue Palmetto

JK Marlow    jkm160915_079

September    Beaufort County    SC

Spring Island

image of Rhapidophyllum hystrix, Needle Palm, Blue Palmetto

JK Marlow    jkm160915_082

September    Beaufort County    SC

Spring Island

image of Rhapidophyllum hystrix, Needle Palm, Blue Palmetto

JK Marlow    jkm160915_083

September    Beaufort County    SC

Spring Island

image of Rhapidophyllum hystrix, Needle Palm, Blue Palmetto

JK Marlow    jkm160915_085

September    Beaufort County    SC

Spring Island

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Rhapidophyllum hystrix   FAMILY Arecaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rhapidophyllum hystrix   FAMILY Arecaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Rhapidophyllum hystrix

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Rhapidophyllum hystrix

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Rhapidophyllum hystrix

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

1213

Shrub
Perennial

Habitat: Moist to wet soils of small blackwater stream swamps, especially where underlain with coquina limestone ("marl"), hydric hammocks and rich, wetland-upland transitions, per Weakley's Flora

Native to South Carolina & Georgia

Common in GA Coastal Plain (rare elsewhere in GA & SC)

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Leaf sheaths with long (10-50cm) needle-like spines

LEAVES:
Evergreen
Palmately compound (or weakly costapalmate)
Alternate, spirally arranged

FLOWER:
Spring
Yellowish
Radially symmetrical
3 sepals
3 petals
Superior ovary

FRUIT:
Red
Drupe

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME: