Trachycarpus martianus (also known as Martius' fan palm) is a tree in the family Arecaceae. There are two distinct populations: one at 1500-3NaN-3 in the Khasia Hills of Meghalaya state, in northeast India, the other at 2400-3NaN-3 in central northern Nepal. Other populations have been reported in Assam, Sikkim, Burma and southern China.[1] [2] The main identifying characteristics are the regular leaf splits (to about halfway), the coffee bean shaped seeds (similar looking to Trachycarpus latisectus) and the bare, as opposed to fibrous trunk. The new leaf spear and edges of the petioles are covered with a white tomentum.[3] [4] [5]
The species is named after the German botanist Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius (1794-1868).[6]
It is used in making Jhapi, a traditional head cover often used to felicitate guests in Assam.