Pronunciation: RAY-piss uh-LEASH-uh
Common Name: Lady Alicia Palm (unofficial)
Rhapis 'Alicia' is the name given to this palm by its creator, Louis Hooper, a well known and respected palm grower in southern California. It was created by hybridizing Rhapis multifida and Rhapis laoensis, and the outcome ended up being a perfect, neat and ornamental garden plant with advantages over both of its parents. It's a more manageable height than Rhapis humilis is, and much better for the smaller garden. It also has neat, clean stems. But it also has the durability and cold hardiness that Rhapis laoensis does not have (somewhat of a marginal species in California)
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Appearance and Biology
- Habit: clustering with a crown of 8-12 fan leaves per stem
- Height: 10'
- Trunk: multiple; 1/4" thick; upper stems often have leaf bases (but easy to pull off); clean stems are a smooth light green to yellow-green; ringed like a bamboo culm; many living leaves long much of the upper stem
- Crownshaft: none
- Spread: 4'+
- Leaf Description: palmate; deeply divided to petiole (spoke-wheel like); 8-10 leaflets per leaf; ridged/pleated with blunt, pointed tips; 16"-20" long (half petiole, half leaf blade); deep green; somewhat leathery/stiff
- Petiole/Leaf bases: 8"-10" long; very thin (2mm); arching; unarmed; un-split
- Reproduction: unclear
- Inflorescence: along stems where living leaves; 1' long; branched at end
- Fruit:
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Horticultural Characteristics
- Minimum Temp: 26F
- Drought Tolerance: moderate
- Dry Heat Tolerance: good
- Wind Tolerance: poor
- Salt Tolerance: unknown
- Growth Rate: moderate
- Soil Preference: adaptable, but prefers moist, well draining soils
- Light Requirement: filtered sun to partial sun (full sun near coast)
- Human Hazards: none
- Disease or Horticultural Problems: none
- Transplants?: fairly good, but not as good as some other Rhapis
- Indoor?: pretty good indoor palm
- Availability: rare but seems to fairly available locally in Southern California at specialty nurseries
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