Pinnate Leaf Superlative Trees

Trees bearing the Largest Leaves in the World

Trees bearing the Largest Leaves in the World

Type.Species and Family.Where from?Length.Width.
Largest overall leaf; Largest Monocot leaf; Largest pinnate leaf.Raphia regalis. Palmae or Arecaceae.West Africa from Nigeria to Angola. This individual in Congo (Brazzaville).85 feet (26 meters) overall. The lamina, or blade, is 54 feet (16 meters) and the petiole, or stalk is 31 feet (9.4 meters)About ten feet (three meters) wide.
Largest bipinnate leaf.Caryota kiriwongensis. Palmae or Arecaceae.Peninsular Thailand.36′ 1″ (eleven meters) overall. Lamina length 26′ 3″ (eight meters). Petiole is only 20 inches (50 cm) joined to crownshaft sheath 8′ 2″ (2.5 meters) long.23 feet (7 meters) in width.
Largest costapalmate leaf. (Petiole extends into the palmately veined lamina as a rachis).“Coco-de-Mer”, or “Double Coconut”. Lodoicea maldivica. Palmae, or Arecaceae.Seychelles Islands, about 800 miles northeast of Madagascar.Up to 49.2 feet (15 meters) overall. Acaulescent juveniles have the longest leaves, with a lamina up to 19.7 feet (six meters) joined to a petiole 29.5 feet (nine meters) with no overlap.Lamina up to fifteen feet (4.6 meters) wide.
Largest true palmate leaf (rachis very small, or nonexistent, and all the veins radiate from a single point).“Dondah” Corypha macropoda. Palmae, or Arecaceae.Endemic to Termoklee Island near South Andaman in the Andaman Islands south of Burma.Approximately 35 feet (11 meters). Lamina twenty feet (6.1 meters) long partly overlaps the 25 feet (7.6 meters) petiole.Lamina up to twenty feet (6.1 meters) wide.
Largest simple (undivided) tree leaf.“Monkey-Cap Palm” Manicaria saccifera. Palmae, or Arecaceae.Neotropical flood forests.Up to 34 feet (10.3 meters) all told. Lamina is thirty feet (9.1 meters) plus a four-foot (1.2-meter) petiole.Maximum width 7′ 8″ (2.3 meters) Expressed as “23 decimeters”.
Largest treefern leaf; Largest non-palm.“Mule’s Foot Fern”, or “Paku Gajah”. Angiopteris evecta. Marattiaceae.Southern Asia, East Indies, Melanesia, Polynesia, Queensland and Madagascar.29.5 feet (nine meters) overall. 23 feet (seven meters) lamina plus 6.5 foot (two meter) petiole which can be up to four inches (ten cm) thick.6.5 feet (two meter) width. Bipinnate,
Largest quadripinnate leaf. (Leaflets are the fourth order of branching).“Black Treefern”, or “Mamaku”. Cyathea medullaris. Cyatheaceae.New Zealand, Fiji and Polynesia.23 feet (seven meters) overall. 19.7 feet (six meter) lamina with a 3′ 3″ (one meter) petiole.6.5 feet (two meter) width.
Largest Gymnosperm leaf.“Kwango Giant Cycad”, or “Malele”. Encephalartos laurentianus. Zamiaceae.Endemic to the Kwango River Basin, Bandundu Province, Congo (Kinshasa).Overall length 23 feet (seven meters) and massively constructed. Lamina 22 feet (6.7 meters) plus a one-foot (30 cm) petiole which is up to three inches (8 cm) thick.35 inch (90 cm).
Largest indeterminate leaf (never stops growing).“Tumbo”. Welwitschia mirabilis. Welwitschiaceae.Coastal Namibia and southwestern Angola.Living portion up to 12.2 feet (3.7 meters) long, usually with several feet of dead leaf still attached. No petiole. New leaf tissue emerges from a lip-like groove around the top of the trunk. Other, much narrower green segments have been up to 24 feet (7.3 meters) in length.Segments have been measured up to 5.9 feet (stated as “179 cm”) in width.
Largest Dicot tree leaf.“Midnight Horror” Oroxylon indicum. Bignoniaceae.East Indies, Southeast Asia, India and Sri Lanka.Up to 14.44 feet (4.4 meters) total length. Lamina up to 7.9 feet (240 centimeters) plus a petiole up to 6.5 feet (two meters) in length.Lamina up to seven feet (2.13 meters) in width.
Largest linear leaf (greatly elongated lamina with mostly or entirely parallel veins running lengthwise. No petiole).Pandanus laxespicatus Pandanaceae.Endemic to swamps near Perinet (Analamazaotra), Madagascar.Up to 32.8 feet (ten meters) on juvenile plants.Up to 14 inches (36 cm) in width.
Largest entire (undivided, unlobed, untoothed) tree leaf.Traveler’s Tree Ravenala madagascarensis subspecies bemavo (Strelitziaceae).Hills of eastern Madagascar.Total length up to 36.1 feet (eleven meters). Petiole up to 19.7 feet (six meters) bearing a lamina up to 16.4 feet (five meters) long.Up to five feet (1.5 meters) in width.
Greatest surface area of any dicot leaf. Largest entire dicot leaf.“Maior Folha” Coccoloba inpae Polygonaceae.Amazon rainforest. Thus far only in eastern Brazil.Up to 8 feet 2 inches (2.50 meters) plus a petiole of about four inches (10 cm). The tree is a single rosette of leaves atop a 43-foot (13-meter) unbranched trunk.
Up to 4 feet 9 inches (1.44 meters) in width.
Largest palmately divided leaf (all leaflets attached at one point to the petiole tip).Longispadix sp. nov. Palmae, or Aceraceae.Endemic to Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea.24 or more wedge-shaped leaflets forming a circle about 8 feet (2.5 meters) in diameter, on a petiole of comparable length.
Largest peltate leaf. (Petiole is attached at or near the center of the lamina, as in Tropaeolum majus and Nelumbo nucifera).“Chia Kubit” Macaranga gigantea. Euphorbiaceae.Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Java and Celebes.Lamina up to five feet (1.52 meters) long with a petiole of similar length attached to the upper central region.Also up to five feet (1.52 meters) in width.
Largest succulent tree leaf.“Berg-Aalwyn” Aloe marlothii Liliaceae.South Africa.Six feet (1.83 meters) long.12 inches (30 cm) wide.