Nannorrhops ritchieana

Description

Nannorrhops is a monotypic genus belonging to the family Arecaceae (palm trees) whose only species is: Nannorrhops ritchieana. It is native to Asia and is distributed in southern Arabia, Iran and Pakistan . 1 where it grows at heights of up to 1600 meters above sea level . It is a shrub palm , with several stems that grow from a single base. The stems grow slowly and often very close together, reaching 1-2 meters or more in height. It is a fan-shaped palm of the Corypheae tribe, the leaves have a long and smooth petiole that ends in a rounded fan with 20-30 leaflets 30-120 cm long, of a blue-greenish-blue color. The flowers grow in the heights at the top of the stems, it is usually dioica with male and female flowers on separate plants. The fruit is a brown drupe . The stems are monocarpic, dying in the soil after flowering, the plant is of continuous growth from the basal shoots. It is one of the most resistant palm trees, tolerating winter frosts below -12 ° C (possibly up to -20 ° C), although it requires very hot summers for good growth. Occasionally it is grown as an ornamental plant in southern Europe and southern North America, but it is not widely cultivated.