Pemba Palm

Chrysalidocarpus pembanus, commonly called Pemba Palm, is a clustering palm native to Pemba Island in Tanzania. Kew’s Flora of Tropical East Africa account describes a tall palm with arching, pinnate leaves and a natural habitat in low-lying forest near sea level. ## Garden Use Use it as a substantial tropical specimen or in a spacious warm landscape where its eventual height and clustered stems can be accommodated. The species is associated with wet lowland forest, so it suits gardens able to provide a long, warm growing season and regular moisture. ## Growing Conditions Provide warmth and ample irrigation, with soil that remains evenly moist while draining excess water. The native habitat and the cultivation notes compiled by Palmweb support these moisture recommendations; a reliable cold-hardiness threshold was not established, so protect it from frost rather than assigning a zone. ## Maintenance Leave space for multiple stems and the arching crown. Remove only dead fronds and avoid cutting the single growing point at the top of each stem. Kew reports stems reaching up to 18 m in its Flora of Tropical East Africa description, so do not treat a juvenile planting size as its mature scale. [Plants of the World Online](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:665971-1/general-information) documents the accepted name, synonym Dypsis pembana, habitat, and morphology; [Palmweb](https://www.palmpedia.net/wiki/Dypsis_pembana) provides the Pemba Palm common name and cultivation context.