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Rhapis excelsa (Thunb.) A.Henry

Lady palm

Native records: 3 botanical areas

Hainan, China Southeast, Vietnam

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Natural distribution

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NativeIntroducedUncertain

Distribution is shown as WGSRPD Level 3 areas. It does not imply the species occurs throughout an entire area.

Last updated:

Distribution last verified:

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Photograph of Rhapis excelsa

A clustering evergreen fan palm in the family Arecaceae with slender, fibre-clad canes and glossy, deeply divided fan-shaped leaves. Native to southern China and northern Vietnam and a long-favoured, shade-tolerant houseplant.

Description

An evergreen palm that spreads by rhizomes to form dense clumps of slender canes. The canes are about 1.5 cm across and reach 3–4 m tall, sheathed in persistent leaf bases whose coarse black fibres form a net-like mesh. The palmate (fan-shaped) leaves are divided almost to the base into roughly 5–10 broad segments with jagged, toothed tips. Plants are dioecious, bearing small flowers on branched inflorescences. Slow-growing and very shade-tolerant, it is one of the most enduring indoor palms and, in Japan, has been cultivated since the Edo period into numerous named and variegated forms.

Habitat

Grows in the understorey and on slopes of humid subtropical to tropical forest from southern China (Guangdong) through Hainan to northern and north-central Vietnam, up to about 1,000 m elevation. Truly wild populations are scarce, and the species is sometimes considered known chiefly from long cultivation.

Distribution areas

  • China

    • China South-CentralIntroduced
    • China SoutheastNative
    • HainanNative

  • Hong Kong

    • China SoutheastNative

  • India

    • AssamIntroduced

  • Japan

    • JapanIntroduced
    • Nansei-shotoIntroduced

  • Macao

    • China SoutheastNative

  • Taiwan, Province of China

    • China SoutheastNative

  • Thailand

    • ThailandIntroduced

  • Trinidad and Tobago

    • Trinidad-TobagoIntroduced

  • Viet Nam

    • VietnamNative

Climate of the native range

The Köppen climate classes found in the areas this plant is recorded as native to. It does not mean an entire area has that climate.

  • Cfa Temperate, no dry season, hot summer
  • Cwa Temperate, dry winter, hot summer
  • Am Tropical, monsoon
  • Aw Tropical, savannah

The same climate occurs in 115 areas worldwide, 106 of which have no record of this plant. See them on the map

A matching climate does not mean the plant can grow there. Range limits are also set by things other than climate — dispersal history, soils, competition. Source: Beck et al. (2023), CC BY 4.0 (observed period 1991–2020).

Recorded medicinal uses

The cited source records medicinal use of this plant. It is not an assessment of efficacy or safety.

  • Rhapis excelsa is recorded as used medicinally.

    Source location: p.34, right column, line 24

    World Checklist of Useful Plant Species · Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity (KNB) · CC BY 4.0 · source version: wcups-2020-62602715

    Open source

Other names

Lady palm、Broadleaf lady palm、Ground rattan、Little lady palm

Family
Arecaceae
Genus
Rhapis

Other species in Rhapis

Sources

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    China · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Hong Kong · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    India · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Japan · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Macao · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Thailand · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Trinidad and Tobago · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Taiwan, Province of China · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Viet Nam · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

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