Trachycarpus martianus
Encyclopedia
Trachycarpus martianus (also known as Martius' fan palm) is a species in the genus Trachycarpus
Trachycarpus
Trachycarpus is a genus of ten species of palms native to Asia, from the Himalaya east to eastern China. They are fan palms , with the leaves with a bare petiole terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflets. The leaf bases produce persistent fibers that often give the trunk a characteristic...

from two distinct populations, one at 5,000 feet (1,500 m) in the Khasia Hills, Meghalaya Province, in northeast India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, the other at 8,000 feet (2,400 m) in central northern Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

. There may be well be other populations. The main identifying characteristics are the regular leaf splits (to about half way), the coffee bean shaped seeds (similar looking to Trachycarpus latisectus
Trachycarpus latisectus
Trachycarpus latisectus is an attractive palm tree with large leathery leaves with exceptionally wide segments and a thick, bare and ringed trunk. Its fan-shaped leaves resemble those of Livistona. It has a bare trunk and its seeds resemble those of T...

) and the bare, as opposed to fibrous trunk. The new leaf spear and edges of the petioles are covered with a white tomentum.
The species is named in honor of the german botanist Karl Friedrich Phillip Martius (1794-1868).
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