I had posted a photo of a grove of palm trees that I had thought were Chinese Fan Palms due to their large palmate leaves and thick trunks.

Thanks to Gavin Coates, a member of my Facebook group, urbantrees of the world, and a tree expert in Hong Kong, I now know they are actually another species, Bismarkia Nobilis, a rather similar looking, but different type of Palm altogether.

The specie is named after the first German chancellor, Otto von Bismark, and is endemic to Madagascar. I still find it hard to tell the difference between the Chinese Fan Palm (livistona chinensis) and the Bismarkia, but I can totally understand Gavin’s description of it as “livistona on steriods” due to its thick trunk and huge leaves.

Another reference point I found is the colouring. Whereas Chinese Fan Palms are green in hue, the Bismarkia is more bluish gray. I will certainly look out for the Bismarkia in the future. Sorry for the confusion.

Categories:Bismarkia Nobilis, Chinese Fan Palm, hong kong tree database, parks and gardens, Street trees, urbantrees, Urbantrees of Hong KongTags: #photooftheday #urbantrees #hongkong, #SunYatSenMemorialPark