Plant Identification Learning Module:
Ornamentals

Needle Palm (Rhapidophyllym hystrix)

This handsome native palm grows slowly to a height of 5 feet. It has a rounded, clumping form. The fronds are palmate with long narrow leaf segments and whitish undersides. The palm may be trunkless, or short-trunked, with brown matting and black 6-8 inch needle-like spines. Fruits are round, brown, and hairy.


Needle palm plant, Susan Wildes
Needle palm foliage, Susan Wildes
UF/IFAS

Needle palm flower
Chris Evans, University of Illinois, Bugwood.org

Needle palm needles
Wendy VanDyk Evans, Bugwood.org