FAN PALM LEAVES

Pictorial Article on Their Appearance

by Phil Bergman

Description and Introduction

This article quickly shows the diverse appearance of the wide family of palms known as “Fan Palms”. Their leaf appearances are quite variable, note only in size but also in texture, color and form. Below, you’ll see lots of photographs of their leaves. The point here is not to get you to identify each species’ leaves, but rather for you to appreciate the diverse appearance that they all have as a group.

FAN PALMS

THEY ALL JUST LOOK LIKE MEXICAN FAN PALMS, CORRECT?
I DON’T THINK SO.

All photos here are of fan palms. They were taken in the wild, in botanical gardens or at the nursery. But, all are of fan palms of one species or another. I’ve not labeled them because I’m presenting them as a group. From a structure point of view, a fan palm is a palm where all the segments (or leaflets) radiate from one central area. These can form a whole circle of leaflets, a half circle, or less. Compare this to a pinnate palm where leaflets come off a central leaf stalk. I.e., leaflets protrude laterally from a central stem, typically to either side.

Over the years I have heard people say hundreds of time things like “I don’t like fan palms; they all look like Mexican Fans”. Or, “Fan palms look like desert palms”. Or, “Fan palms are so boring; I like normal palms”. If you were like me and had studied palms for almost forty years, what would you say to such comments? I usually just say something like “I understand” and show them typical pinnate palms. But, I am aware that nothing could be further from the truth.

There are such exotic fan palms of all types, shapes, sizes, color and textures. I’ve tried to demonstrate their varied appearance here. Fan palms comes from all corners of the world. Some are large trees, others tiny. Some species are for shade only. Some have silver undersides. And, others are almost white in color.

And, fan palms add a different look and dimension to the garden. A garden composed of only pinnate palms like King Palms is quite boring. One has to mix fans into a garden to add diversity and interest. I hope you can see with these photos how you could do this.