Colours and shapes
What you notice immediately about Fishtail palm is the feathered, triangular green leaf that looks a bit like a fishtail, giving the plant the nickname fishtail palm. The unusual leaves give the plant a very distinctive appearance. This elegant palm usually does not grow out of a single trunk, but out of several smaller ones, giving it an attractive full look. Each small trunk only blooms once, at the end of its life. By then there are many new shoots on the plant, so that it never becomes bare. As a houseplant, Fishtail palm can reach a height of 100-160 cm.
Origin
Fishtail palm is a member of the palm family (Arecaceae) and grows in Asia and northern Australia and on islands in the Pacific Ocean. There the plant can reach a height of eight metres with enormous leaves three metres long. Those leaves create fantastic silhouettes, making them look like giant ferns high in the air.
Symbolism
Fishtail palm is known as ‘the hand of the gods’ in Indonesia. The large drooping leaves are said to be ‘a hand from heaven’.
