Florida is home to several native palms of interest including the one named after Charles H. Wright, a 19th-century American botanist – Acoelorrhaphe wrightii aka Paurotis palm aka Everglades palm. You have likely driven by a one or two planted in the median along many roads in Charlotte County. Multiple canes emerge from this clumping palm to make a dramatic landscape feature adorned with fan-like fronds atop spiny stems. Perfectly hardy in our area, the Paurotis palm makes a nice specimen plant when managed properly.
The Paurotis palm can slowly grow up to thirty feet tall with a clump width of about twenty feet, so exercise patience and plan accordingly when selecting a space for this plant. The Paurotis will grow quicker in moist soils and can even handle some occasionally wet soils. This palm grows best in full sun but will tolerate some light shade. Useful as a specimen or even a future informal screen, patience will reward you with an attractive tropical landscape feature.
The Paurotis clump is made up of numerous stems with light-green, beautiful fan-shaped fronds up to three feet long. As mentioned before, the stems are armed with spines so be careful as they can easily cut you. Each mature stem will flower in the spring and produce small fruit about one-quarter of an inch in diameter that start out green, change to orange and then to black when ripe. Occasional pruning of excess suckers will allow a more open clump with a better display of individual stems adding to its textural and structural attractiveness.
Proper nutrition is essential for the Paurotis palm as it can suffer from several deficiencies. To ward off the deformities manifested by lack of certain nutrients, we would recommend the following for all palms – a granular fertilizer – 8-2-12-4 (or 8-0-12-4) applied in November, February and May as per label directions. In August, use a 0-0-16-6, (or a 0-0-24 if you cannot find it) again as per label directions. In high pH soils, which can be found in Charlotte County, you may see Paurotis palms with manganese deficiency characterized by yellowing new leaves and more typically withered and curled tips classically called “frizzletop”. A severe manganese deficiency can actually kill the palm. Additional manganese sulfate may be needed to ward off these symptoms in alkaline soils. Potassium deficiency is also common and appears as dead black areas as well as yellow-orange spotting on the older leaves. Iron deficiencies may also be noticed when fronds take on a pale yellow-green coloration. All of these deficiencies will be prevented by using the proper fertilizer recommended above. Otherwise, severe deficiencies can be treated with the proper specific nutrient on a case-by-case basis.
The Paurotis palm is listed as a Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ plant worthy of a place in your landscape. They do grow slow but are a great native palm suitable for our area. For more information on all types of palms, or to ask a question, you can also call the Master Gardener Volunteer Helpdesk on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 1 to 4 pm at 764-4340 for gardening help and insight into their role as an Extension volunteer. Ralph E. Mitchell is the Director/Horticulture Agent for UF/IFAS Extension Charlotte County. He can be reached at 941-764-4344 or ralph.mitchell@charlottecountyfl.gov. Connect with us on social media. Like us on Facebook @CharlotteCountyExtension and follow us on Instagram @ifascharco.
Resources:
Broschat, B. K., Klein, R. W. & Hilbert, D. R. (2023) Acoelorrhaphe wrightii: Paurotis Palm. The University of Florida Extension Service, IFAS.
The Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Guide to Plant Selection & Landscape Design. (2022) The University of Florida Extension Services, IFAS.
Broschat, B. K.(2017) Manganese Deficiency in Palms. The University of Florida Extension Services, IFAS.
Acoelorraphe (2024) Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoelorraphe.
Tasker, G. (2014) What’s in a Name: 11 of Florida’s Native Palms. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.
Port St. Lucie Botanical Gardens (2025) Paurotis Palm, Everglades Palm. Friends of the Port St. Lucie Botanical Gardens.
Charles Wright (botanist) (2024) Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Wright_(botanist).
1
