Ravenea glauca Information
A solitary, medium sized, moderately slow growing, dioecious palm. Rare in cultivation, endangered in the wild. It has a rough, grey-brown trunk, 8 m. (26 ft.) tall, 10 cm. (4 inch) diameter with no obvious leaf scars, and large segmented, pinnate (feather) leaves, 1.5 m. (5 ft.) long, 1.2 m. (4 ft.) wide, dark green above and beneath.
The Latin name refers to the glaucous, waxy undersides of the new leaves. This plant is suitable, while young as a houseplant or conservatory plant.
Ravenea glauca can tolerate freezing temperatures to about -3.8°C (25°F). It naturally occurs in open woodland or grassland in sun exposed, montane locations, and should be planted to maximise sunshine exposure. Under extreme freezing conditions we recommend you keep this palm as dry as possible. It should be noted that in its natural habitat the temperature swings between extreme heat and extreme cold occur within 12 hours (night & day) of a single day, and have little to do with Summer/Winter seasons. Therefore, this palm dislikes long durations of cold weather and may require additional heat or protection during the coldest weather.
General Information:
Quite possibly hardier to cold than is currently thought.
Distribution:
Native to, Madagascar
Dry forest and in ravines and rocky or sandy gullies at Isalo; 670-1250 m. altitude. Reported at 1800 m. (5900 ft) or possibly even as high as 2000 m. in the Andringitra mountains.
Location: Madagascar (-22.532854°N, 44.868164°E)