The Norfolk Island Palm (Rhopalostylis baueri) is native to both Norfolk Island and the Kermadec Islands. It reaches over10 metres in height and produces hanging berry like seed, which turn a spectacular red. This attractive bright red fruit is one of the endangered Green Parrots favourite foods.
This palm is known locally as “Niau”. Early settlers used the growing tip as a vegetable. They also used the ribs of the palm fronds for making brooms and wove the fronds into baskets.
The Palm is named after Ferdinad Bauer (1760-1826), an Austrian botanical illustrator who travelled on Matthew Flinders expedition to Australia on HMS Investigator. He spent eight months on Norfolk Island from October 1804 collecting and drawing more than seventy types of plants, forty animal species and sketching some landscapes.