Trunk to 30 m tall, 35 cm wide, grey, often with vertical fissures. Leaves to 4.5 m long, in a large crowded crown, bright green, shiny. Leaflets with drooping tips. Leaf stalks long and usually sharply toothed. Panicles about 1 m long, with cream to white flowers. Fruit to 1.5 cm wide, round, black.
Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria
Occurs naturally in rainforest and other moist forests as well as swamps.
Widely planted in many countries. Very cold tolerant.
L. chinensis R. Br., Chinese Fan Palm from Japan and Taiwan has a trunk to 10 m tall, 25 cm wide. Leaves to 3 m long, in an open crown, bright green to yellowish, deeply divided. Leaflets narrow, with long, fine drooping tips, often frayed. Panicles about 80 cm long, with yellowish flowers. Fruit about 1.5 cm across, bluish-green. Occurs in sheltered forests. A very decorative palm which is widely planted in many countries. Young plants make good container subjects.
L. fulva A. Rodd, Blackdown Fan Palm has a trunk to 10 m tall, 30 cm wide, dark grey. Leaves to 4 m long, in a large crown, dull greyish-green. Leaflets stiff, hairy beneath. Panicles about 1 m long, with cream flowers. Fruit about 1.5 cm across, round, black, powdery. Occurs in open forest, often among rocks. Becoming popular. Can be grown in warm temperate zones.
L. mariae F. Muell., Central Australian Cabbage Palm from the Northern Territory has a trunk to 20 m tall, 40 cm wide, dark grey. Leaves to 4.5 m long, in a large crown, often a skirt of hanging dead leaves. Leaflets with drooping tips, margins prickly. Panicles to 1.3 m long, with yellowish flowers. Fruit to 2 cm across, globose, black. Occurs as a few relict populations in gorges on the Finke River. Has attracted much interest as a novelty and is grown in many countries. Very cold tolerant. Young plants have distinctive reddish leaves.
L. nitida A. Rodd, Carnarvon Fan Palm from Queensland has a trunk to 30 m tall, 25 cm wide, grey. Leaves to 4.5 m long, numerous in a rounded crown, bright green, shiny, deeply divided. Leaflets with drooping tips, often frayed. Panicles to 1 m long, with bright yellow flowers. Fruit to 2 cm across, black, shiny. Grows in colonies beside streams. A handsome species that is proving to be adaptable in cultivation.
L. rotundifolia Mart., Footstool Palm from Indonesia to Malaysia has a trunk to 10 m tall, 30 cm wide, grey. Leaves numerous in a large crown, on long slender petioles. Blades 1-2 m across, bright green, divided about halfway into stiff narrow notched leaflets. Panicles slender. Fruit about 2 cm across, red.Young plants have highly decorative leaves. Usually grown in the tropics. Plants can survive in warm temperate zones but generally have a poor appearance.
Source: (2005). Arecaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 5. Flowering plants. Monocotyledons. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.