Higher classification Palm trees | Rank Genus | |
 | ||
Similar Hedyscepe canterburyana, Wallichia, Nikau, Palm trees, Gaussia | ||
Rhopalostylis is a genus of two species of palms native to the South Pacific. Both are smooth-trunked, with regular ringed scars from fallen leaves. The leaves are 3–5 m in length, and the leaf bases encircle the trunk.
Contents
Chatham nikau in flower fruit rhopalostylis sapida
Distribution
R. baueri occurs on Norfolk Island and the Kermadec Islands northeast of New Zealand; the Kermadec Islands population, formerly separated as R. cheesemanii, was included in R. baueri in 2005 after comparison revealed no significant differences. R. sapida, known as the nikau palm, is the only palm native to mainland New Zealand, and is found in lowland forests on the North Island, in coastal areas of the South Island as far south as Banks Peninsula, and on the Chatham Islands at 44°S. R. sapida thus has the southernmost range of any palm genus.
Classification
Subfamily: Arecoideae; tribe: Areceae; subtribe: Rhopalostylidinae. Rhopalostylis is closely related to the Lord Howe Island genus Hedyscepe.
