Chamaerops excelsaChusan palm

It has a generally single trunk, slender and very upright, densely wrapped in the brown fibres left by the old leaf bases. The crown is concentrated at the top, creating a well-defined architectural silhouette. It can reach approximately 8 to 12 metres in height, occasionally more, keeping a relatively contained width of between 1.5 and 2.5 metres.

The large palmate leaves, deeply divided into segments, form fans of firm texture and dark green tone. Carried on long petioles, they move with the wind and produce an expressive play of light and shade, reinforcing the exotic character of the plant without creating an excessively heavy visual mass.

In summer, branched, hanging inflorescences appear, made up of numerous small pale yellow flowers. It is a dioecious species, with male and female flowers on separate specimens. Where pollination takes place, female plants can produce small fruits that turn dark blue when ripe.

It grows well in sun or partial shade, in fertile, well-drained soils. It tolerates different pH values and, once established, withstands periods of drought and low temperatures unusual among ornamental palms. It should be protected from very strong winds and from cold, drying winds. It is suited to entrances, courtyards, urban gardens, pool areas, avenue plantings and Mediterranean or contemporary compositions.

In mature specimens from Diaplant, the height of the trunk immediately lifts the crown above the level at which the garden is used, creating scale, verticality and an evident architectural presence. The consolidated texture of the fibres and the density of the foliage give, from the moment of planting, the expression of a fully formed palm.