Chamaedorea elegans

MP-0014 / 0024 — Arecaceae

Chamaedorea elegans Mart.
Table Palm

A slender Central American palm that thrives in low light — the world’s most familiar indoor palm.

Distribution

Native to rain forests of southern Mexico and Guatemala; widely cultivated and sometimes naturalised elsewhere.

Habitat

Shaded understorey of humid tropical forest in the native range; in cultivation, mostly indoors or in shaded gardens.

Morphology

A slender, usually solitary, small palm 1–2 m tall with a thin cane-like trunk. The pinnate leaves bear regularly spaced, narrow leaflets. The species is dioecious; small yellow flowers are borne in branched inflorescences.

Botanical notes

A cultivated, non-native taxon included in the archive as a widely recognised ornamental palm. Its tolerance of low light has made it one of the most common indoor palms in the world.

References

Taxonomy and distribution follow Plants of the World Online (Kew), YList (Yonekura & Kajita) and regional floras; CITES Species+ for trade status. Descriptions are provisional and are revised as specimens are verified.