Botanical name:

Rhopalostylis baueri var Cheesemanii

Common name(s):

Kermadec Island Nikau

About:

A native New Zealand medium-sized palm tree, this species is notable for its faster growth rate compared to the more widely recognised New Zealand Nikau, scientifically known as Rhopalostylis sapida. It thrives best in environments that are free from frost and ideally situated in shaded areas until it becomes well-established. The tree produces fruits that start off as a vibrant green, gradually transforming into a strikingly bright red when they reach full ripeness. These fruits serve as a preferred food source for the endangered Norfolk Island Parakeet, highlighting the tree’s ecological significance.

Natural habitat:

Abundant in both dry and wet forest types on Raoul Island where it sometimes is the main canopy species.

Growing environment:

Sun, Shade, Salt, Wind, Coastal & Free draining tolerant.

Endemic distribution:

In New Zealand known only from Raoul Island (Kermadec Islands group). Also on Norfolk Island, its type locality.

Height: 15m

Flowering: 

December – January with a red/pink or white coloured flower/s

Fruiting:

December – January with a red berry.

Uses:

Bird food / Attractant, Bee food & Forests.

How to grow:

Easily grown from fresh seed. Seed should be soaked in water to remove flesh and then sown over a damp peat/coarse sand mix and left in a shaded spot (ideally in a mister) and ignored. Fruit may take up to a year to germinate. Frost tender. Plants resent root disturbance so they should be planted in a sheltered semi-shaded site and then left alone.

** Seed germinates without pre treatment. Sow seed direct & keep moist until germination is complete