The fan palm, or dwarf palm, planted in 1585, is the oldest plant in the Botanical Garden of Padua and known universally as ‘Goethe’s Palm’ ever since the great German poet and philosopher, after admiring it on 27 September 1786, formulated the evolutionary theory expounded in his essay on the Metamorphosis of Plants (1790). He recalls in this work that the gardener at the Botanical Garden had cut several samples from the plant; these Goethe took with him on his journey, wrapped in large pasteboard containers, and they were very much in his thoughts when writing the Metamorphosis.

It is a characterizing feature of this plant that the basal leaves remain whole, whilst the intermediate leaves begin to divide along the veins, spreading out thereafter into a fan of straight laciniae at the topmost extremities.

Goethe described the Botanical Garden of Padua as being “…pretty and cheerful”, a place where, “amidst this variety which comes upon me quite new, the idea that all forms of plants may, perhaps, be developed from a single form, becomes more lively than ever”. His observation and description of polymorphism is of great importance as it constitutes the basis of modern plant physiology.

Describing his visit to the Botanical Garden, Goethe also remarks that many of the plants — those near the circular wall — could stay outdoors in winter, and that, by the end of October, many had the protection of heated greenhouse structures.

A common sight in parks and gardens, where environmental conditions permit, this species of palm is somewhat smaller in size than other ornamental varieties, hence the adoption of the name, among others, of dwarf palm. It grows wild along the coasts of the western Mediterranean, typically on poor scrubland, and indeed often in inaccessible places where it has taken refuge to escape aggressive exploitation — and ultimately destruction — by humans, who have long harvested the leaves to make brooms and rope, and above all for use as padding or stuffing material. 

The dwarf palm represents a legacy, as it were, from the Italian flora of the Tertiary period (65 million years ago), and is currently the only indigenous palm species to have survived the glaciations that engulfed Europe, ending 12,000 years ago.

This historic palm is kept in a special octagonal greenhouse located within the Hortus sphaericus, near the North Gate, in the medicinal plants section. Benefiting from a protective enclosure, it has been able to produce a number of exceptionally tall stems, around 12 metres in height, whereas non-cultivated specimens seldom grow to more than 2 or 3 metres.