Palms, Cycads & Palm-like Plants (G-Z)

Notes:

-- indicates plants commonly available in nurseries and/or garden centers in south Florida
indicates plants that can tolerate wet soils or occasional flooding.
Click on linked scientific names for photos and/or more information.

Common name Scientific name	Size (feet)	Light	Salt tolerance	Comments
Cuban belly palm -- Gastrococos crispa	30	Full sun	Moderate	Graceful palm with spiny trunk and leaves. Slow-growing at first, increasing as trunk forms. Trunk distinctly swollen in middle. Orange, golf-ball sized fruit.
Palm Guihaia argyrata	2-4	Partial to full shade	Low	Small, slow-growing, clumping, trunkless palm with fan-shaped leaves, green above and silvery brown below. Can be mistaken for Rhapis. Not common.
Sagisi palm -- Heterospathe elata	30	Full sun to partial shade	None	Tall rainforest species from the Philippines and adjacent islands. Slow-growing when young; grows quite fast once trunk forms. Bears crown of gracefully arching leaves. Many small, white fruit produced nearly continuously upon maturation.
Doum palm, gingerbread palm -- Hyphaene coriacea	20-30	Full sun	None	Coarse palm with arching, palmate, gray-green leaves that have spiny petioles. Trunk with persistent leaf bases unique among palms, in that it branches up to 2 or 3 times. Orange, pear-shaped fruit in long clusters.
Cycad Lepidozamia peroffskyana	20	Partial to full shade	None	Tall Australian cycad. Elegant, glossy green leaves grow to 10’ long, with narrow leaflets to 12” long. Use as specimen or accent plant. Requires well-drained soil.
Chinese fan palm -- Livistona chinensis UF Fact Sheet(183KB pdf)	15-40	Full sun to partial shade	None	Medium-sized palm with large, palmate, light green leaves split at the tips. Relatively fast growing. Produces large quantities of olive-shaped blue seeds. Petioles spiny. Juvenile palm used as groundcover.
Australian ribbon palm -- Livistona decipiens	30	Full sun to partial shade	Low	Tall, slender palm with graceful, deeply segmented, fan-shaped leaves bearing long, thin ribbons. Best when protected from strong winds.
Dwarf livistona palm Livistona muelleri	12-18	Full sun	Low	Medium-sized palm with stout trunk and crown of large, stiff, erect, bluish-green, deeply segmented, fan-shaped leaves. Striking red, branched inflorescences followed by equally striking blue, olive-sized fruit. Not common.
Footstool palm -- Livistona rotundifolia	30-40	Full sun to partial shade	Low	Tall, slender, fan palm with broad, nearly symmetrical, shallowly segmented leaves. Bright red fruit borne on long, thin, arching, stalk.
Mazari palm -- Nannorrhops ritchiana	10-20	Full sun to partial shade	None	Medium-sized, shrubby palm with branching trunks and whitish-blue, fan-shaped leaves. Each stem flowers only once and dies back. Exceptionally cold-tolerant. Prefers cool, arid climate but tolerates south Florida quite well. Slightly susceptible to lethal yellowing disease.
Madagascar ‘palm’ -- Pachypodiumlamerei	6-15	Full sun	High	Tall-growing, sparsely branching cactus look-alike. Spiny trunks bear showy white flowers upon maturity. Not a palm. Other Pachypodium also drought tolerant.
Screw ‘pine’, screw ‘palm’ -- Pandanus utilis UF Fact Sheet(164KB pdf)	15-25	Full sun	High	Many-branched, palm-like plant with saw-toothed leaves that resemble pineapple. Prefers moist conditions, but can tolerate drought. Not a palm. Occasionally susceptible to lethal yellowing disease.
Canary Island date palm -- Phoenix canariensis UF Fact Sheet	30-50	Full sun	Low	Tall, robust date palm with huge rounded crown of long, arching, pinnate leaves. Best for avenue plantings; not suitable for small lot.
Pygmy date palm -- Phoenix roebelinii	6-8	Full to partial sun	None	Dwarf date palm with elegant, pinnate fronds bearing impressive spines at base. Commonly planted in south Florida, often near the front door or in pool enclosures.
Cliff date palm Phoenix rupicola	20	Full sun to partial shade	Low	Medium-sized palm with gracefully arching, dark green, feathery leaves. Like all Phoenix, has large spines at leaf base. Fruit ¾” long, purplish-red in color. Requires well-drained soil. Caution: Phoenix reclinata is FLEPPC Category II invasive.
Palm Pseudophoenix lediniana	20	Full sun	Moderate	Medium-sized palm with long, graceful, pinnate leaves and smooth, gray trunk distinctly swollen in middle. Related to P. sargentii, but much faster growing.
Buccaneer palm-- © Pseudophoenix sargentii	10	Full sun	High	Slow-growing native palm. Grows naturally in sandy or limestone soils in areas that receive little rainfall. Gray trunk and prominent gray-green crownshaft, topped by sparse crown of silvery-blue-green leaves. Produces red, grape-sized fruit.
Cherry palm, wine palm -- Pseudophoenix vinifera	20-30	Full sun	Moderate	Similar to P. lediniana, except slower growing and more robust overall. Produces many red, grape-sized fruit.
Traveller’s tree -- Ravenala madagascariensis UF Fact Sheet (80KB pdf)	30	Full sun	Low	Bright green, banana-like leaves up to 10’ long, forming two opposite rows and held on long, tightly overlapping stalks. Spreading form reminiscent of flat fan of foliage. Clusters of white flowers between leaf bases in summer. Not a palm.
Lady palm -- Rhapis excelsa UF Fact Sheet (82KB pdf)	5-10	Partial to full shade	None	Small, densely clumping fan palm with numerous slender, dark brown trunks bearing distinctive fibers and leaf scar patterns. Small, deeply segmented, glossy dark green leaves on thin, delicate petioles. Often used as shrub or potted plant.
Puerto Rican hat palm -- Sabal causiarum	50	Full sun	Moderate	Large palm with massive, smooth gray trunk up to 4’ in diameter. Large, fan-shaped leaves up to 6’ long, deep green in color, deeply segmented, drooping at ends. Not for small lots.
Scrub palmetto -- © Sabal etoniagenus UF Fact Sheet (42KB pdf)	3-4	Full sun	Moderate	Small, native, trunkless, shrub-like palm resembling Serenoa repens but with smooth petioles.
Dwarf blue palmetto -- © Sabal minor UF Fact Sheet (97KB pdf)	3-4	Partial shade	Moderate	Small, native, trunkless, shrub-like palm resembling S. etonia, but smaller and with bluish-green leaves. Can tolerate wet soils.
Cabbage palm -- © Sabal palmetto UF Fact Sheet (117KB pdf)	30-80	Full sun to partial shade	High	Common, native, tall palm with rounded crown of fan-shaped leaves and smooth or rough trunk. Highly adaptable. Florida’s state ‘tree’. Plant only from containers or known field-grown plants. Do not plant cabbage palms taken from natural stands.
Saw palmetto -- © Serenoa repens UF Fact Sheet (97KB pdf)	3-8	Full sun to partial shade	High	Native clumping fan palm with subterranean, prostrate, or upright trunks. One of the most abundant and widely-planted palms in Florida. Green and silver forms. Spreading tendency can be problem when left uncontrolled.
Keys thatch palm -- © Thrinax morrissii UF Fact Sheet (88KB pdf)	15	Full sun to partial sun	High	Native to Florida Keys and the Caribbean. Grows naturally in alkaline soils, sometimes on limestone outcrops. Leaves are bluish-green above and silvery below. Small white fruit produced in the fall.
Florida thatch palm -- © Thrinax radiata	25	Full sun to partial sun	High	Native to Florida and the Caribbean. Grows naturally in sand or on limestone. Differs from T. morrissii by having leaves that are green on both sides.
Veitchia palm -- Veitchia spp.	50	Full sun	None	Fast-growing palms from South Pacific. Widely planted in south Florida. High tolerance of hurricane-force winds. Wide adaptability to varying soil, water, and nutrient conditions. Caution: Avoid Adonidia merrillii (also known as Veitchia merillii), due to its high susceptibility to lethal yellowing disease.
Washintonia palm -- Washingtonia robusta UF Fact Sheet (97KB pdf)	50	Full sun	High	Tall, fast-growing, common palm. Leaves large, palmate, with toothed petioles. Caution: Do not plant within 500’ of beaches or coastal wetlands in Miami-Dade County.
Cycad -- Zamia amblyphyllidia	3-4	Partial shade	High	Mounding, clumping cycad with elegant leaves to 4’ and wide, paddle-shaped leaflets. Requires well-drained soil.
Florida coontie -- © Zamia floridana UF Fact Sheet (80KB pdf)	1-5	Full sun to shade	High	Florida’s only native cycad. Host for atala hairstreak butterfly. Comes in a variety of sizes. Narrow to wide leaflets. Separate male and female plants; both bear reddish-brown cones; male cone small, elongate; female cone larger and wider. Also known as Z. pumila, Z. integrifolia, Z. sylvatica, Z. umbrosa. Requires well-drained soil.
Cycad Zamia herrerae	3-4	Full sun	High	Medium-sized, rare, subterranean cycad from southern Mexico and Central America. Has good landscape potential, with long, stiffly erect, slightly twisting leaves and shrub-like appearance.
Cycad Zamia inermis	3-5	Full sun	High	Medium-sized, rare, stem-forming cycad from Veracruz, Mexico. Has good landscape potential, with long, upright leaves and shrub-like appearance.
Cycad Zamia loddigesii	3	Full sun	High	Small, durable cycad from Mexicao. Similar in appearance to cardboard palm, but with narrower leaflets. Extremely drought tolerant. Requires well-drained soil.
Cardboard palm-- Zamia maritima UF Fact Sheet (57KB pdf)	3-6	Full sun to partial shade	High	Medium-sized cycad with broad, stiff, cardboard-like leaflets. Commonly planted in south Florida as shrubs, specimen plants, or in large planters. Name recently changed from Z. furfuracea. Can be weedy if both male and female plants are in the same vicinity. Requires well-drained soil.
Cycad -- Zamia vazquezii	3-4	Partial shade	Low	Small to medium, fern-like cycad with delicate, green or brown emergent leaves. Name recently changed from Z. fischeri.Requires well-drained soil.
Zombie palm -- Zombia antillarum	8-20	Full sun	High	Tall, clumping palm with characteristic narrow trunks bearing rings of 2-3” yellow-beige spines attached to woven, fabric-like leaf sheathes. Leaves palmate and mid-green. Produces clusters of olive-sized, white fruit.

Palms, Cycads & Palm-like Plants (G-Z)

Notes:

Plant Categories

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