Fishtail palm
Caryota mitis
Also called Burmese fishtail palm and Clustering fishtail palm
Houseplant · Ferns & palmsThe only palm whose leaflet is a torn wedge rather than a strap — like the tail of a fish, hence everything about the name. If it ever fruits indoors, wear gloves: the flesh is loaded with needle crystals that burn skin.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Medium
- Water
- Every 8 daysDrench and drain — water the whole surface until it runs from the holes.
- Light
- Bright indirect to some direct sun
- Feed
- Every 45 days
- Humidity
- Average to high
- Hardiness
- Indoors, or out for the summer RHS H1C, to 5°C
- Size
- 2.5 m tall · 1.5 m across
- Lifecycle
- Tree
- Origin
- Southeast Asia, from India to the Philippines
Is it safe for pets and people?
PetsNothing recorded against it
No animal-poison authority lists this plant either way.
PeopleIrritates skin
The fruit flesh.
HandlingTake care handling it
The fruit flesh is loaded with needle-shaped crystals that burn skin on contact — gloves if it ever fruits indoors, which is rare.
Checked against ASPCA and RHS on 2026-08-05.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- Brown limpet bumps along the underside of the leaflet ribs, and a sticky shine on whatever the plant is standing over.Scale insect · pest
- A stem flowers from the top downward and then browns off entirely. That stem is finished — it is normal for the genus, and the clump carries on from the suckers.One stem dying after it flowers · disorder