Palms, Cycads & Palm-like Plants (A-E)
Notes:
- -- indicates plants commonly available in nurseries and/or garden centers in south Florida
- © indicates Florida native plants
indicates plants that can tolerate wet soils or occasional flooding.
Click on linked scientific names for photos and/or more information.
|
Common name |
Size |
Light |
Salt tolerance |
Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
30 |
Full sun |
High |
Extremely fast-growing palm similar in overall appearance to queen palm, except with denser canopy and 4-6” sharp, black spines on trunk, petiole, and leaf rachis. |
|
Seashore palm -- |
5-10 |
Full sun to light shade |
High |
Clumping palm with short prostrate or subterranean stems and graceful pinnate leaves, green above and silver below. Fruit arranged spirally on long stalk; cluster resembles pineapple. Excellent for beach-front. Prefers sandy soils. |
|
Cohune palm |
20-50 |
Full sun |
Low |
Huge palm with extremely long pinnate leaves (to 33 feet each) that erupt from the trunk in shuttle-cock shape. Cream-colored flower clusters followed by huge clusters of brownish yellow, woody fruits. Prefers moist soil; can tolerate drought. |
|
Ponytail ‘palm’ -- UF Fact Sheet(115KB pdf) |
10-30 |
Full sun to partial shade |
High |
Often mistakenly called a palm, this member of the agave family requires excellent drainage. Can tolerate some shifting shade. Also known as Nolina recurvata. |
|
Bismarck palm UF Fact Sheet(130KB pdf) |
20-30 |
Full sun |
None |
Enormous palm with huge, bluish or green leaves. A native of Madagascar, this is an extraordinarily durable and highly adaptable palm. Requires lots of room. Not suitable for a small yard. |
|
Blue hesper palm -- |
50 |
Full sun |
High |
Tall palm with pastel bluish-white, palmate leaves. Trunk slightly swollen at base and up to 1.5’ wide, bearing persistent leaf scars. Prefers well-drained soil and arid climate, but can tolerate south Florida’s humidity. Not common. |
|
Sierra Madre palm |
6 |
Full sun to partial shade |
High |
Low-growing palm with prostrate trunk and large, blue, fan-shaped leaves. Prefers well-drained soil and arid climate, but can tolerate south Florida’s humidity. |
|
Bamboo cycad -- |
5-7 |
Full sun to partial shade |
Low |
Trunkless cycad with upright, bamboo-like leaves. Extremely cold tolerant. Green or brown emergent leaf forms. Requires well-drained soil. |
|
Cycad -- |
4-5 |
Full sun to partial shade |
Low |
Trunkless, shrubby cycad with brown emergent leaves. One of the few cycads that is completely spineless, making a good plant for along sidewalks. Requires well-drained soil. |
|
Cycad -- |
6-12 |
Full sun to partial shade |
Low |
Large cycad with brown, red, or green emergent leaves. May attain a spread of nine feet. Requires well-drained soil. |
|
Cycad |
6-8 |
Full sun to partial sun |
Low |
Large cycad with green emergent leaves. Cold hardy. Requires well-drained soil. |
|
Cat palm |
3-8 |
Full sun to partial shade |
Low |
Mounding palm with elegant, dark green, glossy, feathery leaves. Can be used as a shrub or a hedge. |
|
Bamboo palm UF Fact Sheet(59KB pdf) |
6-10 |
Partial to full shade |
None |
Heavily clumping palm with tall, slender stems resembling bamboo canes. Can be used as a shrub or a hedge. Also known as C. seifrizii. |
|
Stolon chamaedorea-- |
3-4 |
Partial shade |
None |
Sparsely clumping, rainforest palm from Central America. Nearly entire leaves and raised annular rings on slender stems quite attractive. Grows best in well-drained soil.Ironically, is quite drought tolerant. Forms large stands vegetatively by stolons. |
|
Red leaf palm |
20 |
Full sun to partial shade |
None |
Rainforest palm from New Caledonia. New leaf is bright red to maroon, fading to dark, glossy green. Requires shade when young and well-drained soil. Two forms: green crownshaft and yellow crownshaft (latter often called C. hookeri). |
|
Silver palm --© UF Fact Sheet (165KB pdf) |
3-8 |
Full sun |
High |
Small, slow-growing native palm. Round, palmate leaves with silvery undersides. Numerous small, purplish-black fruit produced nearly year-round. |
|
Old man palm -- |
8-12 |
Full sun |
High |
Slow-growing Cuban palm bearing characteristic dense ‘beard’ of gray or straw-colored fibers on trunk. Leaves large, round, palmate. Fruit glossy purple-black. |
|
Coconut palm UF Fact Sheet (194KB pdf) |
30 |
Full sun |
High |
Popular tropical palm. ‘Maypan’ and ‘Fiji Dwarf’ varieties resistant to lethal yellowing. Choose plants grown only from certified seed. |
|
Bailey copernicia palm -- |
30 |
Full sun |
High |
Slow-growing palm from Cuba. Huge, stiff, blue-green leaves top massive, slate gray trunk that resembles concrete. |
|
Cuban wax palm |
25 |
Full sun |
High |
Handsome palm of moderate dimensions. Gray, waxy, fan-shaped leaves on spiny petioles. Prefers well-drained soil and arid climate, but can tolerate south Florida’s humidity and short periods of inundation. Not common. |
|
Cuban petticoat palm -- |
8-15 |
Full sun |
High |
Another Cuban palm. Old leaves retained on trunk and form characteristic skirt or petticoat. |
|
Carnauba wax palm |
30 |
Full sun |
Moderate |
Moderately sized palm with open crown of silvery-white, fan-shaped leaves. Trunk smooth on top 1/3, but bears persistent leaf bases on bottom 2/3. Wax on leaves used to make heat-resistant carnauba wax. Prefers well-drained soil and arid climate, but can tolerate south Florida’s humidity and short periods of inundation. |
|
Ti plant -- UF Fact Sheet(35KB pdf) |
3-10 |
Full sun |
None |
Palm-like, slender plant with unique, long, narrow leaves in red, pink, white, or purple. Also known as ‘red sister’. |
|
Virgin’s ‘palm’ -- |
3-6 |
Full sun |
High |
Medium-sized Mexican cycad. Similar in overall appearance to king sago, but with lighter green leaves. Very cold tolerant. Forms offsets at base that grow into separate trunks. Requires well-drained soil. |
|
Cycad -- |
5 |
Full sun to partial shade |
High |
Medium-sized cycad. Larger than D. edule, but smaller than D. spinulosum. New leaves bear soft, golden hairs. Suitable replacement for queen sago. Requires well-drained soil. |
|
Cycad |
5-6 |
Full sun to partial shade |
Low |
Rare, medium-sized cycad from Mexico. Similar to, but much smaller than, D. spinulosum. Use as specimen or accent plant. Requires well-drained soil. |
|
Cycad -- |
30 |
Full sun to partial shade |
Low |
Largest American cycad. Similar in overall appearance to queen sago. Grows best in filtered sunlight. Requires well-drained soil. |
|
African oil palm |
30-50 |
Full sun to partial shade |
Low |
Tall palm with long, feathery, pinnate fronds. Trunk smooth on top, rough on bottom from persistent leaf bases. Fruit orange, ripen to black, held tight near trunk, high in oil content. Not suitable for small lot. |
|
Cycad -- |
6 |
Partial shade |
High |
Large South African cycad. Long, glossy, dark green, spiny leaves with leaflets resembling holly leaves. Impressive, large, bright red cones produced on males and females. Offsets form at base of plant. Requires well-drained soil. |
|
Cycad -- |
15 |
Full sun |
High |
Large, trunk-forming cycad from South African. Long, glossy, dark green, spiny leaves. Offsets form at base of plant. Requires well-drained soil. |
|
Cycad -- |
12 |
Full sun |
High |
Large South African cycad. Long, glossy, dark green, upright, spiny leaves. Smaller than E. gratus. Offsets form at base of plant. Requires well-drained soil. |
|
Cycad |
6-10 |
Partial to full shade |
Moderate |
Medium-sized, clumping, trunkless cycad with long, graceful, glossy dark green leaves. Females bear large, orange cones. Not common. Requires well-drained soil. |
Plant Categories
- Perennials
- Annuals
- Shrubs & Hedges (A-Ci)
- Shrubs & Hedges (Cl-Ha)
- Shrubs & Hedges (He-P)
- Shrubs & Hedges (R-Z)
- Flowering & Shade Trees (A-E)
- Flowering & Shade Trees (F-Z)
- Fruit Trees
- Palms, Cycads & Palm-like Plants (A-E)
- Palms, Cycads & Palm-like Plants (G-Z)
- Ornamental Grasses
- Groundcovers (A-I)
- Groundcovers (J-Z)
- Herbs & Vegetables
- Vines
- Epiphytes