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Chamaerops humilis

Common name:	Dwarf Fan Palm	Family:	Palmae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	11, 50, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe - Mediterranean.
Habitat:	Nutritionally poor, dry sandy or rocky soils on mountain slopes to 1000 metres[50, 89, 166, 200].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	C. humilis var. elegans[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Dwarf Fan Palm [MS], European Fan Palm [P], Palmito [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	humilis = low growing;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Arecales. Renamed to Arecaceae -- Palm family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Spain

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen tree growing to 1.5m by 1.5m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 9. It is in leaf all year, in flower from April to June. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant). We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge.

Edible Uses

Fruit; Leaves.

Very young leaf buds are cooked as a vegetable[46, 61, 105, 183]. The young shoots or suckers from the bottom of the plant are also used[2, 183].
Fruit - dried[177, 183]. No further details.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Fibre; Hedge.

A strong fibre obtained from the leaves is used for cordage and brushes[46, 61, 89, 100, 171, 231]. The whole leaf can be used in weaving.
Plants have been used to form hedges in Mediterranean areas[260].

Cultivation details

Easily grown in a rich strong loam enriched with leafmold and sand[1]. Plants grow in poor dry soils in the wild[200]. Requires very good drainage with abundant moisture in the summer and a sunny position[1, 11]. Another report says that plants grow well in dry conditions and are drought tolerant[260]. Tolerates low light levels and can be grown in the home[200]. Requires a position sheltered from the wind and cold[166].
This species tolerates occasional short-lived lows down to about -10°c[200, 231]. It will not tolerate recurring bouts of freezing over several days, nor does it survive freezing of the root system[231]. Plants are hardy in the milder areas of Britain, succeeding from S. Hampshire south and westwards[1, 11, 59]. Plants growing outdoors at Kew fruited in October 1989[K].
Palms usually have deep penetrating root systems and generally establish best when planted out at a young stage. However, older plants are substantially more cold tolerant than juvenile plants[231]. In areas at the limit of their cold tolerance, therefore, it is prudent to grow the plants in containers for some years, giving them winter protection, and only planting them into their permanent positions when sheer size dictates[231]. Palms can also be transplanted even when very large. Although the thick fleshy roots are easily damaged and/or desiccated, new roots are generally freely produced. It is important to stake the plant very firmly to prevent rock, and also to give it plenty of water until re-established - removing many of the leaves can also help[231]. Another report says that this species dislikes root disturbance[132].
Some botanists recognise a sub-species C. humilis arborescens (Pers.)Steud. (a taller growing form) and a cultivar 'Nana' which is smaller than the type and suckers. It is likely that these are no more than phenotypes and that this variety of habit can be induced in cultivation, plants in stressful situations such as near the coast duplicating the 'Nana' form whilst plants in optimum conditions are more like sub-species arborescens[200].
Plants in the wild are usually found in poor soils and seldom exceed 1.5 metres tall. When grown in better soils in gardens, however, they can grow up to 5 metres tall[260].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe, the old seed can be slow and difficult to germinate. Scarification or pre-soaking stored seed for 1 - 2 days can be helpful[133]. Sown in a warm greenhouse, the seed usually germinates in 3 - 4 months (but can take longer) at 25°c[133]. The seed produces a long root some time before a shoot appears above ground and it can be potted up at this time[164]. Grow the plants on in the greenhouse for at least a couple of years before planting them out into their permanent positions in the summer.
Suckers, removed in spring.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[59] Thurston. Trees and Shrubs in &ndndndnd.
Trees and shrubs that succeed in &ndndndnd based on the authors own observations. Good but rather dated.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[89] Polunin. O. and Huxley. A. Flowers of the Mediterranean. Hogarth Press 1987 ISBN 0-7012-0784-1
A very readable pocket flora that is well illustrated. Gives some information on plant uses.

[100] Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969 ISBN 0192176218
An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[132] Bianchini. F., Corbetta. F. and Pistoia. M. Fruits of the Earth.
Lovely pictures, a very readable book.

[133] Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 1. Thompson and Morgan. 1987
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.

[164] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan. 1990
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.

[166] Taylor. J. The Milder Garden. Dent 1990
A good book on plants that you didn't know could be grown outdoors in Britain.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[231] McMillan-Browse. P. Palms for Cooler Climates. Trebah Enterprises. 1993 ISBN 0 9521952 0 8
An excellent little booklet on the subject, though it does not mention many plant uses.

[260] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2 Pan Books, London. 1998 ISBN 0-330-37376-5
Excellent photos of over 1,100 species and cultivars with habits and cultivation details plus a few plant uses. Many species are too tender for outdoors in Britain though there are many that can be grown outside.

Readers Comments

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