Palms For California

Pronunciation: care-ee-oh-DOX-uh ELL-uh-ganz

Common Name: White Elephant Palm; King Thai Palm

Kerriodoxa elegans is a very marginal but exceedingly beautiful palm for California, only surviving in the best growing zones, and only actually growing in the exceptional zones in California. This Thailand native has beautiful, large, palmate leaves that are bright green on top but nearly pure white underneath and have ornamental black petioles. The leaves are very thin and tender, needing not only protection from the cold, but the wind, too. It is basically a trunkless palm in California but in the tropics it can form a few feet of trunk over the years.

Appearance and Biology Habit: solitary with a crown of 5-8 fan leaves Height: overall height 5'; trunk height 0'-1' estimate Trunk: single; subterranean to barely above ground level; 6" thick covered with leaf bases Crownshaft: none Spread: 5'-10' Leaf Description: palmate; up to 2'-3' in diameter with only 1/4-1/6 of length of blade divided; shiny green dorsally but pale turquoise to nearly pure white ventrally (powdery white tomentum); 4'-7' long (most of that being the petiole) Petiole/Leaf bases: 3'-6' long; stiff; slightly channeled; sharp leaf blades but unarmed; dark green to blackish-green Reproduction: dioecious Inflorescence: 1' long from within leaf bases; whitish and branched; white flowers (both male and female inflorescences) Fruit: spherical; 1"-2"; pale yellow when ripe

Horticultural Characteristics Minimum Temp: 32F Drought Tolerance: low to moderate Dry Heat Tolerance: low to moderate Cool Tolerance: low to moderate Wind Tolerance: very low Salt Tolerance: low Growth Rate: very slow Soil Preference: moist and well draining; acidic Light Requirement: filtered sun to partial sun if near the coast Human Hazards: none Disease or Horticultural Problems: finicky palm; often refuses to grow at all if insufficient heat or prolonged cool Transplants?: unknown Indoor?: unknown Availability: rare