This handsome tropical palm is the Fiji Fan Palm, Pritchardia pacifica. Despite its common name, current botanical sources place its native range in the Vavaʻu island group of Tonga rather than Fiji. It belongs to the palm family, Arecaceae, and is now widely cultivated throughout the tropical Pacific and in warm gardens elsewhere.

The palm develops a single, upright trunk that is usually smooth and gray or tan, marked with rings where older leaves have fallen. A mature specimen may reach around 30 feet tall, and occasionally considerably more in favorable conditions.

At the top is an open, rounded crown of large fan-shaped leaves. Each leaf is strongly pleated, as though it has been folded, and divided near the outer edge into many stiff segments. Unlike the deeply drooping tips of some other fan palms, the segments of this species tend to remain relatively upright.

The long leaf stalks are generally smooth and lack the sharp teeth found on many other fan palms. A pale, waxy or scaly coating may be visible on the stalks, especially on younger leaves.

The flowers are small and yellow-green, appearing on branching clusters among the leaves. They are not especially showy, but they are followed by numerous rounded fruits.

The fruits begin green, then pass through reddish shades before becoming dark brown or nearly black when mature. Each fruit contains a single seed and may be about half an inch across.

Fiji Fan Palm grows best in warm, humid conditions with regular moisture and good drainage. Its broad leaves can be damaged by strong wind, so the crown often looks most impressive in a reasonably sheltered location.

Like most palms, it grows from a single point at the center of the crown. New leaves emerge folded upright and gradually open into broad fans, while the oldest leaves eventually die and fall from beneath them.

This palm is valued less for dramatic flowers than for its elegant form. Its slender trunk, open crown and almost perfectly rounded leaves give it a formal, graceful appearance.

When sunlight passes through those deeply pleated fans, the pattern of ribs and folds becomes especially clear, making the Fiji Fan Palm look almost as though each leaf has been carefully constructed by hand.