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United States / Grow / Nikau palm

Nikau palm (Rhopalostylis sapida)
Photo: (c) Archie, some rights reserved (CC BY) (CC BY), via iNaturalist. Species-typical, not necessarily this cultivar.

Nikau palm

Rhopalostylis sapida · Arecaceae · also called Nīkau palm · Wikipedia

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Form
tree
Region
New Zealand
Rated in
Global; New Zealand
On this lot

1. Fire evidence and conditions

Fire evidence
Fire-resistant — location does not change the cited classification.
Evidence regions
Global; New Zealand

2. Why this plant is relevant here

3. Legal, ecological, and broader status

How to read this page

The status above is computed from the cited rows below: independent recommendations can support a fire-resistant result, an avoid row can produce keep-away, and disagreement stays visible as conflict. Placement notes preserve each source’s own scheme rather than translating unlike rules into one scale. This is evidence about a plant, not permission to plant it in every part of the defensible space; Zone 0 remains noncombustible.

The evidence

Grouped by what each source concluded. Primary evidence rated the plant itself (a lab, field program, or original curation); corroboration compiled or republished another source's rating and resolves to its root lineage.

Recommends (1)

Listed without a rating (6)
Corroboration (6 rows from 1 source)

  • FLAMITS: FLAMmability plant traiTS database — Dryad / Global Ecology and Biogeography · Dryad version 9 · original source Corroboration Trait database lineage: meta-aggregator

    6 cited rows from this source; its identity, lineage and tier are stated once.

    • Primary study Mason2016: Mason, N. W. H., Frazao, C., Buxton, R. P., & Richardson, S. J. (2016). Fire form and function: evidence for exaptive flammability in the New Zealand flora. Plant Ecology, 217, 645-659.

      Shared row context: plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying yes; device muffle furnace; site Mason2016-19; sampling summer.

      • Shared measurement context: Ignitability measurement.

        • “temperature at smoke (°C): 101.24”

          FLAMITS record 8510.

        • “temperature at smoke (°C): 162.98”

          FLAMITS record 8511.

        • “temperature at flaming (°C): 165.22”

          FLAMITS record 8725.

        • “temperature at flaming (°C): 304.38”

          FLAMITS record 8726.

      • Shared measurement context: Combustibility measurement.

        • “temperature increase rate (°C/s): 32.15”

          FLAMITS record 8940.

        • “temperature increase rate (°C/s): 13.61”

          FLAMITS record 8941.

Last verified 2026-08-23. JSON (CC BY 4.0)

Profiles: GBIF · iNaturalist · Wikidata · Wikipedia ·

Rhopalostylis sapida (Nīkau palm). FireApproved. https://fireapproved.com/plants/rhopalostylis-sapida/. Last verified 2026-08-23.