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Bismarck Palm

Bismarkia nobilis

Bismarckia is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family endemic to western and northern Madagascar where they grow in open grassland. The genus is named for the first chancellor of the German Empire Otto von Bismarck and the epithet for its only species,Bismarckia nobilis, comes from Latin for 'noble'.

Bismarckia nobilis grows from solitary trunks, gray to tan in color, which show ringed indentations from old leaf bases. Trunks are 30 to 45 cm in diameter, slightly bulging at the base, and free of leaf bases in all but its youngest parts. In their natural habitat they can reach above 25 meters in height but usually get no taller than 12 m in cultivation. The nearly rounded leaves are enormous in maturity, over 3 m wide, and are divided to a third its length into 20 or more stiff, once-folded segments, themselves split on the ends. The leaves are induplicate and costapalmate, producing a wedge-shaped hastula where the blade and petiolemeet. 

Petioles are 2–3 m, slightly armed, and are covered in a white wax as well as cinnamon-colored caducous scales; the nearly-spherical leaf crown is 7.5 m wide and 6 m tall. Most cultivated Bismarckiasfeature silver-blue foliage although a green leaf variety exists (which is less hardy to cold). These palms are dioecious and produce pendent, interfoliar inflorescences of small brown flowers which, in female plants, mature to a brown ovoid drupe, each containing a single seed.

  • The Bismarck Palm is a fast-growing palm native to Madagascar that has transported into  the Phoenix environment wonderfully.

  • Bismarck Palms look great, love full sun exposure, and add a tropical splash anywhere they're planted.

  • The dusty blue-green colored fronds of the Bismarck palm makes it stand out as a wonderful accent in both desert and tropical landscapes.

  • Its bold and formal appearance dominates the area it inhabits. The wide-reaching fronds of the Bismarck Palm not only provide an ideal look, but are also great for blocking unsightly views, areas around pools or fences with openings or exposure.  

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