蒲葵 pu kui

Latania chinensis Jacquin, Fragm. Bot. 1: 16. 1800; Chamaerops biroo Siebold; Livistona boninensis (Beccari) Nakai; L. chinensis var. boninensis Beccari; L. chinensis var. subglobosa (Hasskarl) Beccari; L. japonica Nakai; L. oliviformis (Hasskarl) Martius; L. sinensis Griffith; L. subglobosa (Hasskarl) Martius; Saribus chinensis (Jacquin) Blume; S. oliviformis Hasskarl; S. subglobosus Hasskarl.

Stems to 15 m tall, 20-30 cm in diam., rough with leaf scars. Leaves palmate; petioles to 1.8 m, with green or black, recurved spines along margins, spines denser proximally, fewer distally on petioles; hastula to 3 cm; blades almost circular in outline, 1.2-1.8 m wide, green on both surfaces, regularly divided to ca. 1/2 their length into 50-90 segments, these split and pendulous at apices. Inflorescences 1-1.2 m, branched to 3 orders, with 6 or 7 partial inflorescences; rachillae 10-18 cm; flowers hermaphroditic, borne in clusters of 4-7, white or yellow, 2-2.5 mm. Fruits green or blue-green, globose to ellipsoid or pear-shaped, 1.5-2.6 × 0.9-1.8 cm.

Coastal forests, often on sandy soils. Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan [S Japan].

This species is widely planted as an ornamental throughout tropical and subtropical areas of the world.

The leaves are used for making hats, fans, brooms, and raincoats in Guangdong.