Guihaia argyrata (Cultivated- USA)

Low clustering costapalmate fan palm to about 1 m tall; stem decumbent or erect, very short, about 3-5 cm in diam., sometimes up to 0.5 m tall, with very close leaf scars, the stem usually completely obscured by the old leaf sheaths. Leaves several in the crown, spreading; sheath tubular at first, expanding into very sharp needle-like, erect dark brown fibers to about 14 cm long, about 1 mm wide; petiole up to about 1 m long, usually less, much shorter in exposed individuals, about 11 mm wide near the base, very slightly narrowed distally, ± hemispherical in cross section, bearing caducous silky hairs when young; adaxial hastula about 1 x 1 cm, fringed with hairs when young; lamina about 20-60 cm in diam. in mid-line, divided to about 3/4 to 4/5 into up to about 26 single-fold (rarely two-fold) reduplicate segments, up to about 2.5 cm wide, the outermost segments very narrow, the segment tips very briefly bifid, adaxial surface dark green, abaxial surface silvery grey hairy. Inflorescences 30-80 cm long, with 2-5 partial inflorescences branching to the 4th order; rachillae very slender, the pistillate to 50 x 0.5 mm, the staminate usually shorter and even more slender. Staminate flower in bud about 1.5 mm long or less; sepals about 1 x 0.8 mm; corolla about 1.2 mm long, the lobes about 0.8 mm wide; anthers about 0.3 mm in diam. Pistillate flower about 1.5 mm long; sepals about 1 x 0.8 mm; corolla about 1.2 mm, the lobes about 1 mm wide; staminodes minute, the empty anthers about 0.2 mm long; carpels about 0.5 x 0.4 mm. Mature fruit subglobose up to about 6 mm in diam.; epicarp blue-black, waxy; seed about 4-5 mm in diam. (J. Dransfield. 1985)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.

.

References: The Plant List Ver.1.1  WCSP  Flora of China  Palmpedia  Dave’s Garden