Trevesia palmata is my favorite plant...this week.

Trevesia palmata is another gorgeous member of the Araliaceae family.  I'm fortunate to have two of them.  One is Trevesia palmata and the other Trevesia palmata 'Micholitzii.'

There are two differences  I've noticed in the two plants; one  is the color of the tomentum on immature leaves, the other is that the leaves of 'Micholitzii' are more deeply incised  so they have a lacier look.  I am in no way an expert on this or any plant, these are just my observations of my two plants grown is similar conditions.

 In the straight species, the tomentum on immature leaves is this brownish tan color.

Looks like this as the leaf gets a bit larger.

 Mature leaves look like this. 

'Micholitzii' has a paler, almost white covering of fur.

Which becomes more pronounced as the leaves grow. 

Mature leaves look like this.  Can you see how it got the common name Snowflake Aralia?  San Marcos Growers website says that these are "15 - 20 foot trees with few to no side branches and topped with a crown of long stalked 1-2 foot wide leaves that are deeply lobed with each lobe deeply cut, giving the leaf a lacy snowflake look."  Like most members of this family, you can cut them to the ground, they'll come back, and you can root the top, doubling your collection.  It's such a beautiful plant, it's a pity we don't see them offered for sale very often. 

It makes a great houseplant and is tolerant of fairly low light conditions inside which is a good thing as it's only hardy to USDA Zone 9b: to -3.8 °C (25 °F)  Mine come inside during the coldest months of the year. I got tiny plants a couple of times but failed with them.  these larger plants which have been with me for 2 and 4 years have been tough as nails.  It must have something to do with the "drought tolerant once established" thing and my forgetfulness about watering houseplants in the winter when it's sopping wet outside.  

Here's more interesting information from the San Marcos website:

"This species is indigenous to northern India, southern China, Vietnam and Thailand. In its native habitat this plant can be found growing to 30 feet tall but likely no more than 20 feet in cultivation and more often it is grown as a large shrub. It is sparsely branched with white pubescent stems and a loose broad canopy of oddly shaped leaves with small yellow flowers that are followed by 1/2 inch fruit in tight ball-like clusters. The most attractive aspect of this plant is its 2 to 2 1/2 foot wide, rounded in outline, leaves of a type called pseudocompound, meaning that they look compound but actually are not. The lobes (false leaflets) are attached to a rounded plate-like area at the base of the leaf that attaches to the 2 to 3 foot long prickly petioles. These lobes themselves are so intricately and deeply lobed that they individually look like pinnately compound leaves. The genus name Trevesia was described by the Italian botanist Roberto de Visiani (1800-1878) in 1840 to honor the family Treves of the Bonfili of Padua, who were great supporters of botanical research. The specific epithet was actually from a name described earlier by the Scottish botanist William Roxburgh (1751-1815) who had described this plant as Gastonia palmata and its specific name transferred with it to Trevesia in 1842 when Visiani segregated Gastonia. This specific epithet is in reference to the leaves being palmately lobed."

I'm Joining with Loree at Danger Garden in posting my weekly favorite.  Click on over to her blog to see other weekly favorites.  What plant is grabbing your attention this week?