Dictyosperma album | Hurricane Palm (var. Rubra)

The Hurricane Palm (Dictyosperma album), also known as the Princess Palm, is native to the Mascarene Islands, and is a very attractive single-stemmed, slender, evergreen feather palm that can grow very tall indeed, up to 20 metres tall in ideal conditions.

Now quite rare in the wild, they are a favourite ornamental for cultivation in places like Florida which enjoys a tropical climate but also experiences regular hurricanes and also cold snaps against which Hurricane Palms are surprisingly hardy. 

They will tolerate the occasional light frost, and larger well-established palms will endure down to about -1C. Usually found growing near the coast, the plant can withstand the very strongest of winds, including salt-laden hurricanes, hence its name.

Also known as the Red Princess Palm, the 'rubra/rubrum' variety sports spectacular reddish leaves and petioles when young, though they green up as they get older.