Nikau Palm Tree From New Zealand

Fine art print of a palm tree by P. De Pannemaeker.

Features a Nikau Palm Tree (Areca Rhopalostylus, now known as Rhopalostylis sapida) from New Zealand, also known as the Feather Duster Palm Tree. It is the only palm species endemic to mainland New Zealand and grows up to 20m (70ft) high. Some say that when Māori came to New Zealand, they looked in vain for a familiar tree and seeing the nīkau, compared it to the coconut tree of their Pacific homeland. One translation of ‘nīkau’ is ‘without nuts', in remembrance of the coconut. An alternative translation is ‘only leaves’, referring to the fact that the tree has many leaves that originate from a single stalk.

This is a fine art print inspired by a lithograph from the 1800s.