Rhapis excelsa (Thunb.) A.Henry is a suckering, thicket forming fan palm, that eventually becomes very dense, forming; very clumps, though easily kept smaller. Its trunk is multiple, suckering freely at base from underground rhizomes, slim, cane-like, straight. The upper part of the cane near the crown is covered by fibrous sheath which remains attached to the base of the leaves. As the plants age, the sheaths fall, revealing a dark green, conspicuously ringed bamboo-like stem of leaf base scars. In Rhapis excelsa this leaf sheath fibre tends to be loose and rather ragged looking. Individual canes can be closely ringed, or rings may be moderately spaced, depending on growing conditions. Leaves are glossy green, palmate, thick textured, arranged in a semi-circle just greater than 180°, divided into regular fairly broad, ribbed segments. Leaf segments are single or few in young plants.
;
Excellent for indoor cultivation where it is best planted in a well-drained potting medium. Indoor plants are best sited in bright indirect light near a window. Best with regular and consistent moisture, particularly in summer, but with reduced water applications in winter. Established plants have some drought tolerance.
;
Genus name comes from the Greek word rhapis meaning a needle with reference to the needle like leaf segments.
Specific epithet from Latin means tall in reference to plant height (perhaps not a good name since it is not the tallest plant in the genus).
Rhapis excelsa
Rhapis excelsa comes in following sizes:
L - is ca. 90 cm tall and comes in a ⌀ 21 cm pot.
XL - is ca. 120 cm tall and comes in a ⌀ 27 cm pot.
