Rhapis species

[eastern.nurseries]

How many are there? excelsa, humilis, subtilis............ what does best for you? And what the hell is R vidalii?

[palmtreesforpleasure]

Hi Jon

Ok, how many :-)

regards

colin

  eastern.nurseries said:

How many are there? excelsa, humilis, subtilis............ what does best for you? And what the hell is R vidalii?

[chris.oz]

Melbourne, Australia that is, Zone 10a Temperate cool winters, the best adapted Rhapis for the garden are, in the following order:

1. R humilis, takes part sun, flowers, grows fast. Far and away the best.

2. R excelsa, Grows slowly in the garden. Will not take any sun.

3. R subtilis, grows OK, but not as well as excelsa.

4. R. multifida, as with all these palms starts off slow the jury is still out on this one imn my garden.

[palmtreesforpleasure]

Hello Chris

Do not forget R.robusta, R.gracilis, R, siamensis, R. laosensis , R.micrantha. R.indonesia?

Then there is the conversation about R.robusta. One sold as robusta may be not, the real one is so rare that only some botanical gardens have them to propagate. and it is said it can only happen to Dypsis, the mysteries continue

regards

colin

[ quote name='chris.oz' date='Jul 15 2008, 05:14 AM' post='220687,

Melbourne, Australia that is, Zone 10a Temperate cool winters, the best adapted Rhapis for the garden are, in the following order:

1. R humilis, takes part sun, flowers, grows fast. Far and away the best.

2. R excelsa, Grows slowly in the garden. Will not take any sun.

3. R subtilis, grows OK, but not as well as excelsa.

4. R. multifida, as with all these palms starts off slow the jury is still out on this one imn my garden.

[Eric in Orlando]

Kew lists 8 valid species;

Rhapis excelsa

R. gracilis

R. humilis

R. laosensis

R. micrantha

R. multifida

R. robusta

R. subtilis

[chris.oz]

Hi Colin,

Hope you are doing well. Depths of winter here but the bananas and some of the palms are still growing.

Check this one out. It would seem these are the currently accepted names.

http://csvh.org/col08/browse_taxa.php?selected_taxon=45718

[Eric in Orlando]

Rhapis vidalii, didn't catch that one. I looked at my printed copy of Kews list and it isn't listed there, its a new species.

So there are actually 9 species of Rhapis.

[waykoolplantz]

I think we also had a Chiyodazury (?)...and Koban

[Creekside]

About five years +/- ago, I bought some seed from RPS, Rhapis 'Taiwan'. Only one germinated, now about 24" tall. Anyone know anything about this one?

[palmtreesforpleasure]

Hello waycoolplantz

the ones you have mentioned are cultivars

There is a lot of them, heard one sold for $80,000, I have seen a few $10,000 and $15,000 Rhapis cultivars, Jon may know more about it

regards

colin

[eastern.nurseries]

R humilis is a great specie, it's a fast grower, fairly tight clumper, tall and cold tolerant but it can look weather beaten here when exposed to strong winds, I also like it because it is uniform. R gracilis seems a bit tropical and it always tip burns for me, maybe the light is to bright [ 50% white woven shade] any hints? Anyone growing laosensis? 'taiwan' what does that look like? And as far as collectors paying big money for plants, it is all relative. 99% of them are Japanese and the rest are made up of Europeans, Americans and the odd fool from Queensland. Stay away from Rhapis society auctions in Japan especially if you don't speak the language and you don't have ten grand to blow.

What about vidalii, any experience?

[ffeuillade]

Hi! I have a little R.laosensis. It is very slender, i like it.

Here is a pic:

[PalmGuyWC]

We have a clone of what is called R. laosensis growing in the USA that was imported about 50 years ago by David Berry, a nurseryman and former president of the PS. It doesn't quite look like the one pictured in this thread. The stem looks the same but the leaf blades are wider. It doesn't grow very well for me as it tends to brown tip. I had always assumed it was tropical and brought it inside in the winter time. Last winter I left it outside under lathe and it was undamaged by below freezing temps and actually looked better than if I had brought it inside. Mr Berry was also responsible for introducing R. subtilis into the USA. R. subtilis is tropical and will not grow outside for me in N. Calif. Once very rare, R subtilis is common in S. Flordia now and I've seen some much taller than head high. It is quite vearible in apperance.

I also have R. multifida, and (R laosensis X humilis), and (R. multifida X humilis). Two years ago we had a scorching heat wave and it cooked most of the emerging sphers on my R. multifidas and the hybrids. Some of the canes died back, but some recovered. I think it's safe to say. R. multifida doesn't tollerate extream dry heat. Both of the hybrids were developed by Louis Hooper in S. Calif. Chamaedorea Hooperiana was named in Louie's honor.

Dick

[eastern.nurseries]

Healthy laosensis there ffeuillade, how old is it?

Dick,I have an old article [ Principes july 1974 ] 'The culture of Rhapis' in Japan by kiyo-o Yamaguchi and David Barry Jr. The most interesting part being the experiences of Toshi Satake . Is this who you mean? I grow a couple of laosensis - himedaruma, otohime and a variegated, fujinoyuki. These are very slow for me and like a lot of shade here. Himedaruma a female is the more vigorous but tip burns easily. I wonder if this is the same plant David Barry had?

[eastern.nurseries]

And while I'm at it, this is Rhapis vidalii from Cambodia

The best displays I saw of this Rhapis were in Terminal 3 at Changi airport

[Matt in SD]

I should go look as to not embarass myself, but wasn't Rhapis vidalii described in the IPS journal sometime in the last couple of years. The only thing I remember was that the seed was white when mature, very unusual. It probably is just too new to make the species lists yet.

Matt

[ffeuillade]

Still young Jon, 3 years old only

[palmtreesforpleasure]

Hi Jon

It is interesting to read your comments about R.gracilis, they appear to require more tropical conditions. 2 have died in the garden, next time they will be grown indoors in a pot

regards

colin

[chris.oz]

  eastern.nurseries said:

And while I'm at it, this is Rhapis vidalii from Cambodia

The best displays I saw of this Rhapis were in Terminal 3 at Changi airport

Jon. this palms leaves are very similar to those of R. multifida.

What are the discriminating features ?

[eastern.nurseries]

Matt, White seed in Rhapis is fairly typical I think, although I haven't seen seed set on vidalii. Has anyone?

Colin, Gracilis grows fast enough here but it never looks good. I'll try and get a photo. Someone told me it grows in water. I wonder if it would prefer a higher Ph like 7-7.5 How have you been growing it?

Chris, This picture of vidalii I took is not as distinctive as some of the specimens I saw. The best examples were at Changi airport. It only grows to a max of 1.2m tall and has a finer and more slender leaflet than multifida. I saw a male flower, it was long and bright yellow, reminded me of humilis. When I got back to Aus I sent this picture to my good friend the eminent botanist and goat breeder Dr. Zig Karas [apparently a Rhapis expert] he confirmed it as Rhapis vidalii.

Zig also explained the taxonomy was undertaken by Leonid V Averyanov, Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Science, St. Petersberg assisting him was Nguyen Tien Hiep of Vietnam and Phan Ke Loc of Cambodia both based at the Institute of Ecology, Cau Ciay, Hanoi.

Endemic to North Vietnam, Hoa Binh province, Mai Chau district- Van Mai municipality and surrounds. It is named after Prof. Jules E Vidal- Botanist and explorer of Indochinese flora. Averyanovs' description is dated November 2006.

[PalmGuyWC]

Jon,

I'm not sure if the Rhapis was the same as the one that Mr. Barry brought back to the USA, but it's the same Barry. Sorry, I misspeled his name. Also the mention of Toshi Satake's name reminds me that he visited Florida back in the 70's. Mr. Satake was a very wealthy Japanese man and I read an article about him in the last few years, but can't remember where. It could have been PALMS. One of Mr. Satake's distinctions was that he bought the first and only Eizannishiki for $10,000 which was an unheard of price back in the '70's. I believe there is a memorial and a museum in Okinawa in his memory.

Also, Satakentia liukiuensis from the Ryukyu Islands was named after Mr. Satake. Oddly, the palm should have been named Ryukiuensis, but because the Japanese pronounce R as an L, the true name was lost in translation. I've often wondered why the name isn't changed back to what it was supposed to be.....Satakentia Ryukiuensis.

Dick

[palmtreesforpleasure]

Hi Jon

I have tried R. Gracilis several times and each time it just lingered on for a few years and died. There has to be a technique to growing them. Here is some pictures of them at Kew http://www.pacsoa.org.au/palms/Rhapis/gracilis.html

Maybe they need constant heat and humidity.

Dr Karas might know, wonder where i might find him, he likes a coffee.Fresh pot of coffee might attract him :-)

regards

colin

  eastern.nurseries said:

Matt, White seed in Rhapis is fairly typical I think, although I haven't seen seed set on vidalii. Has anyone?

Colin, Gracilis grows fast enough here but it never looks good. I'll try and get a photo. Someone told me it grows in water. I wonder if it would prefer a higher Ph like 7-7.5 How have you been growing it?

Chris, This picture of vidalii I took is not as distinctive as some of the specimens I saw. The best examples were at Changi airport. It only grows to a max of 1.2m tall and has a finer and more slender leaflet than multifida. I saw a male flower, it was long and bright yellow, reminded me of humilis. When I got back to Aus I sent this picture to my good friend the eminent botanist and goat breeder Dr. Zig Karas [apparently a Rhapis expert] he confirmed it as Rhapis vidalii.

Zig also explained the taxonomy was undertaken by Leonid V Averyanov, Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Science, St. Petersberg assisting him was Nguyen Tien Hiep of Vietnam and Phan Ke Loc of Cambodia both based at the Institute of Ecology, Cau Ciay, Hanoi.

Endemic to North Vietnam, Hoa Binh province, Mai Chau district- Van Mai municipality and surrounds. It is named after Prof. Jules E Vidal- Botanist and explorer of Indochinese flora. Averyanovs' description is dated November 2006.

[Tomsky]

Can anyone identify the species of this Rhapis? I always thought of it as excelsa, but seeing that picture of gracilis, I wonder if that's it. The petioles are a little shorter, though.

Jack

[palmtreesforpleasure]

Hi Jack

Looks similar to Rhapis excelsa cultivar Hinodenshiki which had its first cane 1939

maybe Jon could give a more finite answer

regards

colin

  Tomsky said:

Can anyone identify the species of this Rhapis? I always thought of it as excelsa, but seeing that picture of gracilis, I wonder if that's it. The petioles are a little shorter, though.

Jack

[Dave-Vero]

Leu Gardens has a nice outdoor collection (thanks, Eric!)

For some reason, I have fungus problems with R. excelsa, while R. laosensis is doing well and R. humilis and R. subtilis are thriving, albeit in slow motion.

R. excelsa is also not doing as well as it might at the office where I work.

[chris.oz]

  Tomsky said:

Can anyone identify the species of this Rhapis? I always thought of it as excelsa, but seeing that picture of gracilis, I wonder if that's it. The petioles are a little shorter, though.

Jack

To my eye looks just like subtilis......... this species are quite variable but if its an excelsa cv. .....then ... Jon, where are you.

[eastern.nurseries]

Jack, If you bought your plant as an excelsa then that's most likely what it is. Rhapis excelsa seed can vary enormously these days with so much on the market. The flower is the best indication of specie. I noticed today that some of my R gracilis are starting to flower for spring so tomorrow I'll take some shots and put them up for you to see.

Rhapis love potassium either as nitrate or sulphate, this will often stop tip burn, but can induce magnesium deficiency so use dolomite in the potting mix and liquid feed with epsom salts now and then.

Indoor plants need to be kept moist without being waterlogged. It's a fine line [ this is why course sand is useful in Rhapis potting mixes ]

Leu Gardens Rhapis collection would be great to see. Is it growing on sand?

[Tomsky]

  eastern.nurseries said:

Jack, If you bought your plant as an excelsa then that's most likely what it is. Rhapis excelsa seed can vary enormously these days with so much on the market. The flower is the best indication of specie. I noticed today that some of my R gracilis are starting to flower for spring so tomorrow I'll take some shots and put them up for you to see.

Jon, I probably bought it from Woolworth's in the days when there was a Woolworth's. It may have been either unlabeled or labeled as "Lady Palm".

Jack

[eastern.nurseries]

Here are pictures of Rhapis gracilis. Flower and foliage

This is Rhapis laosensis - Himedaruma

[eastern.nurseries]

And Rhapis excelsa - Taizannishiki in 3gal / 12'' / 300mm pots

[eastern.nurseries]

What about Rhapis 'indonesia', is it a new specie, how come it hasn't been classified yet? It is so small, it reminds me of a grass. This plant is in a 4'' pot for scale. I think the original plants came from Nong Nooch gardens in Thailand, does anyone know its history?

[Vidalii]

hi jon i agree indonesia should be included in the

i have heard that there are a broad and narrow leaf in the indonesia

[PalmGuyWC]

Jon,

You have me drooling. Yours are beautiful Rhapis specimens. I purchased a R indonesia in Florida about two years ago, and it has hardly grown since I brought it to California. I think it requires more moisture than most Rhapis.

This past spring I missed watering some of my variegated Rhapis in Japanese pots and they croaked. I lost about a dozen of my best ones and it made me sick. The one you have pictured as R. laoensis looks to be the same as the ones in the USA.

Dick

[eastern.nurseries]

Marty, Do you know which type this plant is? Are you growing any of these?

Dick, 'Indonesia' has been painfully slow for me as well. It seems to require constant moisture and heavy shade. Sorry to hear you lost some variegated plants to lack of water. Placing the pots on a tray of sand increases their water reserves and improves humidity around the plants, you don't need to top water them as much either.

[Gileno Machado]

Amazing palms, thanks for showing these rare species.

[lyle-turner]

hi jon this is a pic of my R.alicia

and my R.micrantha

[eastern.nurseries]

Hi Lyle, Good to hear from you, what is R. alicia I do not know that one?

[Kris]

Dear Jon

thanks for starting a fentastic topic ! and your visuals are really mouth watering...

lots of love,

Kris

[Michel64]

Here is my humilis X laosensis. I got the seedling 3 or 4 years ago. It's in full shade.

It seems to grow a little bit faster than my excelsa in the same conditions.

[Creekside]

Here's a pic of a Rhapis excelsa Taiwan, which I grew from seed from RPS a few years back. I checked their archive, which described it as "a particularly robust strain of this popular palm that sports beautiful, glossy, leathery, more compact foliage than our usual Chinese strain."