Ravenea xerophila

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Figure 1. Two plants of R. xerophila.

Habitat:

Dry, open forest of south Madagascar.

Description:

A medium to large palm to about 8m tall, with gracefully arching leaves to about 3m long, with very narrow leaflets.

General:

This plant develops a very vigorous root system of fleshy white roots, wher it stores up water for dry times.

Culture:

Full sun, and very well drained. Does seem to be able to take quite a lot of water, as long as the drainage is good. Quite a slow grower. Notice the roots already starting to come out of the bottom of the pot.

Figure 2. Looking into the crown of a mature plant.

Figure 3. R. xerophila in habitat, Madagascar.

Contributed by:

Mike Gray (Figure 1)
Gunter Gottlebe (Figure 2)
Rolf Kyburz, (Figure 3 - from Palms&Cycads No. 70)

External Links:

Kew, PalmWeb, IUCN, JSTOR, Trebrown

Google, GoogleImages, Flickr, PalmTalk