Phoenix roebelenii (dwarf date palm, "Shinnoyashi")

Japanese name: シンノウヤシ （親王椰子）
Scientific name: Phoenix roebelenii

[Overview]
A palm 1–3 m tall that in its native habitat grows wild on rocky riverbanks and cliffs in low-altitude areas, where the trunk is sometimes submerged.
The trunks form clumps, but cultivated plants are often single-trunked.
The trunk is about 10 cm in diameter and upright, becoming slightly curved with age, and the bases of fallen leaf stalks remain on it as diamond-shaped projections.
The leaves are large pinnate leaves that arch and extend long, growing in dense numbers from the top of the trunk.
The leaves reach 2 m in length, with 50–100 leaflets; the leaflets are linear, 20–40 cm long, and the basal leaflets become needle-like.
The leaflets are V-shaped in cross section.
The plant is dioecious, and both male and female inflorescences are spadices emerging from among the leaves.
The male inflorescence is 30–60 cm long and hangs down, while the female inflorescence is up to 35 cm long and upright.
The flowers are cream to pale yellow, borne singly and spirally on the inflorescence.
The inflorescence is branched and has a bract at the base.
The fruit is obovate, about 1.8 cm long and 0.7 cm in diameter, ripening to orange-brown to purple-brown.

[Uses]
The leaves are used in flower arrangement.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed.
It prefers fertile soil that is sunny and well drained.
Place potted plants in a sunny spot outdoors from spring to autumn, and in a sunny spot indoors in winter.
For potted plants, from spring to autumn water thoroughly when the soil surface dries, keep them on the dry side in winter, and mist the leaves with a sprayer throughout the year.
For plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient.
From spring to autumn, apply slow-release fertilizer placed on the soil.
Pests and diseases include anthracnose and scale insects.

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