I have had this palm for many years and it keeps expanding, it started with just a few stalks and now I have a large clump. I would like to know the name, it just so happened it appears to have this flower. I am in zone 9, south Louisiana and we are getting a LOT of rain.

thanks for any help with this.

Anole

Hi John.
Look at the Palmettos, the Sabal palms. There are about 15 species within the genus, but yours looks like the ubiquitous Swamp Palmetto that lives all over coastal and wetland Louisiana.

http://www.loyno.edu/lucec/nat...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S...

Since you say you've had it growing there for years and it hasn't gotten real tall but rather wide, I wonder if it could be Saw Palmetto (Serenoa repens)

http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/s...

Hi Lin.
Looking at the pics John posted, the petioles seem to be smooth rather than toothed. That would rule out Saw Palmetto. If you look at the next page of your link, it shows those mean little teeth.

I was thinking this was Rhapis excelsa, what to you think?

Anole

Rhapis excelsa looks correct to me, do the leaf tips separate?

http://idtools.org/id/palms/pa...

Flowers look correct ..

http://www.onlineplantguide.co...

I used to have a large Lady Palm (Rhapis excelsa) and didn't even think of that one.

Thanks everyone for the help. I do appreciate the links that were posted.

John