The red latan palm, Latania lontaroides, is a palm that stood out due to the red petioles (leaf stalks) of a young specimen that I saw a couple of months ago. This endangered native of Réunion Island belongs in the Arecaceae, or palm, family. This palm is also dioecious, meaning there are separate male and female plants. As always, here is the meaning of the binomial name, Latania lontaroides:

• Latania-this genus name comes from the Mauritian vernacular name for a species from this genus
• Lontaroides-means ‘resembles Lontarus’, which is another genus of palm that is now called Borassus.

In height, the red latan palm can reach up to twelve metres tall. It is a slow-growing species. When mature, the trunk is grey in colour with a swollen base. There are rings on the trunk, which are the leaf scars-marks from where leaves have fallen off. The tree has a solitary habit, with only one trunk per tree.

Leaves are fan-shaped. When young, both the leaf and its petiole are red. When older, both are green. With the plant I saw, the petiole was red, while the leaf itself was green. They remind me a little of Christmas, even though it was nowhere near Christmas at the time!the leaf margins are finely toothed. The fan-shaped leaves can be on a petiole up to 1.5 metres long. With this, the crown can achieve a diameter of six metres.

The inflorescence of the red latan palm grows from within the leaves, rather than from the outside like some other palms. They are small, being yellow in colour. The flowers are followed by oval, fleshy fruits that are brown-green in colour. Each fruit contains three seeds. Individual seeds are shaped like plums and are black in colour.

Within its native habitat, the red latan palm lives in an area that is seasonally dry. It also prefers full sun. This palm is ideal for parks, roadsides, gardens and within containers, so its quite a versatile plant to use.

I always ask myself ‘would I have this plant in my garden?’ With the red latan palm, no. The reason being that I’m not a huge fan of palm trees, so I don’t see them ever having a space in my garden. In saying that, I do like this particular species more than most palm species.