Another beautiful rhapis in the collection I have is laosensis. Slow growing this one at least 20 years in the ground as tube stock. In a hot dry sunny spot. A rosebud farm original from Rich Trapnell. Those where the days, he introduced so many new palms into Australia. 

That’s really nice Richard. Other than R excelsa and, to a lesser extent, R humilis, the other Rhapis species are underutilised I think. They all seem to have such interesting and unique features, ranging from the delicate leaflets of R multifida (apparently a form of R humilis but so unique looking) so the chunky leaflets of laosensis and subtilis. 

1 hour ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

That’s really nice Richard. Other than R excelsa and, to a lesser extent, R humilis, the other Rhapis species are underutilised I think. They all seem to have such interesting and unique features, ranging from the delicate leaflets of R multifida (apparently a form of R humilis but so unique looking) so the chunky leaflets of laosensis and subtilis. 

It’s just one and  the only one I have.I do remember planting it way back but never took any notice of it until now. Realising what I have is a rare one in the collection. Iam currently removing my excelsia to replace with variegated ones. 

Now that's a neat little clumper even @peachy couldn't resist.

3 minutes ago, Jonathan Haycock said:

Now that's a neat little clumper even @peachy couldn't resist.

True peachy would love it, I might have to take a sucker from it. We will see if @peachy bites! 

I have only the R. Excelsia and love it. I don’t see any other varieties here . I had R. Humilus but it was not very healthy when I got it and it only lasted a few years. Harry

I love that species as well and agree with Tim that it's very much underutilized (and it doesn't help that it's very hard to find). When I lived in Mississippi (zone 9a) I had a clump of it that would get frozen back most years, but the thing I noticed was that in comparison with other species like R. excelsa, it was very quick to push new shoots/leaves every spring (even if its subsequent growth wasn't exactly fast), and so I ended up with a little patch of seasonal groundcover. Its bright green leaves I think give a very charming effect even at such a small size. Meanwhile the return of R. excelsa after a hard freeze was like watching paint dry...several years before a clump would return to look like anything at all, and then...here comes another hard freeze...so definitely a 9b and above plant in the Deep South of the USA for general landscape use. But I relied on my R. laosensis and R. multifida for a more dependable effect. (And R. multifida, at least in a more canopied area, rarely ever froze back...amazingly tough despite its gracile character).

Your poor palms being frozen each year, then struggle for a sunny warm day. I never have that problem with cold thankfully. Yes it is a lovely palm and as you say a bit rare, I have never seen them for sale in my area. I was talking to a grower in Thailand and he was saying a lot of habitat for rhapis has been listed and a lot of species will never be identified in the wild, but on a good note he was saying due to so many coming out of Thailand and with so many variations in them there is some hope of them being in cultivation that is why you see so many different forms of the same species in cultivation always trying to identify them. 

2 hours ago, happypalms said:

Your poor palms being frozen each year, then struggle for a sunny warm day. I never have that problem with cold thankfully. Yes it is a lovely palm and as you say a bit rare, I have never seen them for sale in my area. I was talking to a grower in Thailand and he was saying a lot of habitat for rhapis has been listed and a lot of species will never be identified in the wild, but on a good note he was saying due to so many coming out of Thailand and with so many variations in them there is some hope of them being in cultivation that is why you see so many different forms of the same species in cultivation always trying to identify them. 

Well I’m certainly glad I no longer live in a frosty clime but it was very educational to have to navigate through and around it for those years. I gained a lot of knowledge through that experience. One thing I can say is that southwestern Mississippi had the richest most wonderful soil and many tropical plants grew beautifully there despite the frosts and hard freezes. Plus when you grow up in California and then well into adulthood take a journey into climates with big bang thunderstorms and humidity in summer it sort of mesmerises you despite the human discomforts that may accompany the climate. And many palms and herbaceous perennials grew so exuberantly it was really a thrill. I’m sure you have a much more steady and mild climate where you are in NSW but with plenty of rain and dramatic weather (and no freezes!). And I can at least say that after returning to California after Mississippi and the Florida Keys, and landing in the desert, there are at least some storms in summer to give a reminder of that world. (And Rhapis love it here, by the way!)

I would like to see a wider spread availability of these other species , but that could be years before we see it. Harry

1 minute ago, Harry’s Palms said:

I would like to see a wider spread availability of these other species , but that could be years before we see it. Harry

I agree Harry, it makes no sense that tough and beautiful plants like these aren’t available readily. Most Rhapis aren’t really that slow or reticent to produce new shoots for division so it seems very odd. For a long time I think you could only get all the unusual cultivars and species through Rhapis Gardens in Texas, and now they are no more. There’s a vacuum there waiting for an enterprising nursery to fill it!

22 minutes ago, Harry’s Palms said:

I would like to see a wider spread availability of these other species , but that could be years before we see it. Harry

Leave it with me Harry iam working on it. I currently have rhapis micrantha seeds in the post as we speak just cleared customs. So hopefully I will make them available in a few years, yes a few years palms are definitely not like growing carnations that’s for sure time is needed. 
Richard 

19 minutes ago, mnorell said:

I agree Harry, it makes no sense that tough and beautiful plants like these aren’t available readily. Most Rhapis aren’t really that slow or reticent to produce new shoots for division so it seems very odd. For a long time I think you could only get all the unusual cultivars and species through Rhapis Gardens in Texas, and now they are no more. There’s a vacuum there waiting for an enterprising nursery to fill it!

Happypalms to the rescue well at least in Australia that is iam working on it. Excelsia are not on my target list of must do palms, but I do have 200 seedlings that need potting up. And as for laosensis I will definitely be doing a few clones, and I have micrantha seeds in the post. So some hope. 

19 minutes ago, happypalms said:

Happypalms to the rescue well at least in Australia that is iam working on it. Excelsia are not on my target list of must do palms, but I do have 200 seedlings that need potting up. And as for laosensis I will definitely be doing a few clones, and I have micrantha seeds in the post. So some hope. 

Richard, you might (if you haven't already) want to explore the many unusual cultivars of Rhapis excelsa that are collectors' plants, not only in America, but especially in Japan and China. Many have some really beautiful characteristics that make them stand out from the rest of the pack. Apparently it's kind of a huge thing in those countries, and there are many, many bonsai specialists doing beautiful things with them. Keep up the good work in spreading some goodies from this charming genus, in Australia or elsewhere.

5 hours ago, mnorell said:

Richard, you might (if you haven't already) want to explore the many unusual cultivars of Rhapis excelsa that are collectors' plants, not only in America, but especially in Japan and China. Many have some really beautiful characteristics that make them stand out from the rest of the pack. Apparently it's kind of a huge thing in those countries, and there are many, many bonsai specialists doing beautiful things with them. Keep up the good work in spreading some goodies from this charming genus, in Australia or elsewhere.

Oh I got a Japanese variegated collection don’t worry about that!! 

Maybe a franchise ? We need Happypalms here in Southern California! 🤔 Of course there are some prolific growers here but what you have there is colossal! Harry

On 5/7/2025 at 6:57 PM, Jonathan Haycock said:

Now that's a neat little clumper even @peachy couldn't resist.

Don't bet your arse on that statement

 

This might be loasensis;  if it isn’t anyone know what it is?

17 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

Maybe a franchise ? We need Happypalms here in Southern California! 🤔 Of course there are some prolific growers here but what you have there is colossal! Harry

Food for thought there Harry. But iam up against @DoomsDave. He might run me out of town, one cannot muscle in on another growers territory🤣

Richard 

6 hours ago, peachy said:

Don't bet your arse on that statement

 

We got her @Jonathan Haycock nothing like a nice clumping palm to bring them out of the wood work🤣

4 hours ago, DoomsDave said:

This might be loasensis;  if it isn’t anyone know what it is?

Good question as I was saying to @mnorell it may never be identified as so many have been lost in habitat. With so many variants of the same species. It may be another variety but not in the wild anymore. So it could possibly be discovered in cultivation it has happened before. 

Here’s another on the other side of the house.

 

If you look at Laura Hastings' 2003 revision of Rhapis from Palms, looking at the key and the description for R. laosensis shows that the cucculate (hooded) leaf-tips are a characteristic feature (though not exclusively diagnostic, since that feature is occasionally seen in R. excelsa, R. micrantha and R. subtilis as well).

Shown as diagnostic via the key:

"Inflorescence with large conspicuous, usually coriaceous, boat-shaped, almost entirely
overlapping bracts, not sheathing the rachis; leaf segment tips distinctly cucculate"

And from within the description of the species:

"The large thick overlapping prophyll and first rachis bract, shiny adaxial leaf surface which
usually has a pinkish tinge when dried and distinctly cucculate leaf segment tips are
characteristic of this species."

Dave, you at least have a candidate there since your leaves show that hooded quality. And it looks like you have some inflorescences/infructescences hiding within your clumps, so perhaps you can examine them for the diagnostic criteria above...to remove all doubt. I remember that the specimen I had years ago of R. laosensis had those hooded leaves, and I've always felt that's what gives the species a lot of its charm. The 'Koban' cultivar, and I believe also the 'Tenzan' cultivar, of R. excelsa have that "puffy" hooded/cucculate quality as well.

And a little aside, on R. excelsa: has anyone seen the third season of The White Lotus and noticed those endless, glorious walls of R. excelsa lining the hotel roadways? Now that is a sight I think even @peachy couldn't argue with. After all, would you rather see a wall of Privet? (And BTW I believe those scenes were shot at Anantara Bophut Koh Samui Resort.)

14 hours ago, mnorell said:

If you look at Laura Hastings' 2003 revision of Rhapis from Palms, looking at the key and the description for R. laosensis shows that the cucculate (hooded) leaf-tips are a characteristic feature (though not exclusively diagnostic, since that feature is occasionally seen in R. excelsa, R. micrantha and R. subtilis as well).

Shown as diagnostic via the key:

"Inflorescence with large conspicuous, usually coriaceous, boat-shaped, almost entirely
overlapping bracts, not sheathing the rachis; leaf segment tips distinctly cucculate"

And from within the description of the species:

"The large thick overlapping prophyll and first rachis bract, shiny adaxial leaf surface which
usually has a pinkish tinge when dried and distinctly cucculate leaf segment tips are
characteristic of this species."

Dave, you at least have a candidate there since your leaves show that hooded quality. And it looks like you have some inflorescences/infructescences hiding within your clumps, so perhaps you can examine them for the diagnostic criteria above...to remove all doubt. I remember that the specimen I had years ago of R. laosensis had those hooded leaves, and I've always felt that's what gives the species a lot of its charm. The 'Koban' cultivar, and I believe also the 'Tenzan' cultivar, of R. excelsa have that "puffy" hooded/cucculate quality as well.

And a little aside, on R. excelsa: has anyone seen the third season of The White Lotus and noticed those endless, glorious walls of R. excelsa lining the hotel roadways? Now that is a sight I think even @peachy couldn't argue with. After all, would you rather see a wall of Privet? (And BTW I believe those scenes were shot at Anantara Bophut Koh Samui Resort.)

You have done your homework well. Rhapis was the second palm I started to collect after kentia palms.