Trunk covered in dense, dark brown, hairlike fibers in between old leaf scars.
Bloom Characteristics:
Female flowers are green, male flowers are yellow.
Dioecious:
Yes. Rarely, a male plant will produce hermaphroditic flowers.
Foliage Characteristics:
Simple, palmate, alternate or spirally arranged leaves are green with entire margines. Leaves are 18-36" long.
Fruit Characteristics:
Blue-black, kidney-shaped drupe is covered in a waxy, white "bloom." Ripens in mid-autumn.
Structure:
Upright
Range:
SC China to N Myanmar
Habitat:
Subtropical to temperate montane forests; 100-2400m
Description:
The windmill palm is one of the hardiest palms, second only to the European fan palm for its ability to withstand the cold, and has been found growing as high as 7,874 feet in its native range. Because of this palm’s long history of cultivation for both ornamentation and fiber spanning thousands of years, it is difficult to determine its original natural range. T. fortunei is thought to originate from an area spanning central China, southern Japan, northern Myanmar, and northern India. Its species name comes from Robert Fortune, who smuggled samples of the palm out of China in the 1800s, and its common name, windmill, refers to the way its broad leaves grow from the top of its tapering trunk.
Hardiness:
0- 40 F
Bloom Time:
Summer
Ethnobotanical Uses:
In China, this palm has been cultivated for the fibers which grow around its leaf bases, to turn into coats, brooms, brushes, doormats, and other such things. Wax is collected from the fruits.
Medicinal / Pharmaceutical:
In China, a hemostatic drug is extracted from the seeds.
