Majesty Palm
Ravenea Rivularis • River Palm
Majesty Palm in Motion
The Essence
"The Majesty palm (Ravenea rivularis), also called the Majestic palm, is a tall, single-trunked feather palm endemic to southwestern Madagascar. It is one of the most popular ornamental palms in the world and a familiar houseplant, prized for its graceful, arching, feathery fronds and relatively slow growth. In the wild it is a riverine palm, growing along shady riverbanks, lagoon edges and in shallow swamps within an otherwise dry, hot, semi-arid landscape. A solitary trunk can reach about 5-20 m tall in habitat (occasionally more), carrying a crown of 16-25 arching pinnate fronds up to roughly 3 m long; as a houseplant it usually stays a manageable 10-12 ft. The species epithet rivularis, Latin for 'of the brook,' captures its streamside home. It is frost-sensitive and suited to USDA zones 10a-11b, so beyond the tropics it is grown indoors. Despite its ubiquity in the horticultural trade, it is Endangered in the wild, with only around 900 mature trees estimated to remain across a fragmented range threatened by deforestation, habitat loss and seed harvesting."
The species epithet 'rivularis' is Latin (from 'rivulus', a small stream or brook) and means 'of the brook' or 'streamside,' referencing the palm's preferred habitat along the edges of rivers and streams. 'Ravenea' is the palm genus, in the family Arecaceae, of about 20 species native to Madagascar and the Comoros; sources disagree on whom the genus name commemorates, so it is not asserted here.
The species was formally described as Ravenea rivularis Jum. & H.Perrier, published in 1913 (Ann. Mus. Colon. Marseille, ser. 3, 1: 54).
Natural Habitat
Ravenea rivularis is endemic to southwestern Madagascar, where POWO gives its native range simply as 'SW. Madagascar.' It is known from a small number of fragmented sites in the region of the Isalo, Sakaraha and Analavelona areas, with populations separated by surrounding dry country. It is a riverine palm of humid microhabitats set within an otherwise dry, hot, semi-arid climate, growing along the edges of riverbanks and natural lagoons, in shallow swamps, and on shady, waterlogged soils. It typically occurs at roughly 350-750 m elevation, occasionally up to about 1,000 m, and POWO places it in the seasonally dry tropical biome.
Specimen Gallery Under Curation
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