The Pleasonton Corp. nursery in Waimanalo and Puna Certified Nursery on the Big Island are preparing the palms for shipment using a planting method that ensures that they are free of nematodes, a type of worm. One container load with about 100 plants will be sent to Japan.

If they pass a rigid Japanese inspection, the palms could become part of a potential $259 million Japan export market for local plant growers, says Lyle Wong, plant industry administrator at the state Department of Agriculture. Other Hawaii plants for potential export to Japan include miniature plants, orchids, flowering trees, small fruit trees and foliage plants that flower indoors, according to the department.

The two nurseries already export palms to the mainland United States, Canada and Europe as part of an estimated $16 million plant export business for all growers from Hawaii, Wong said.

The potential for palms in Japan comes from an enthusiasm there for tropical plants.

Palms in the shipment from Hawaii include raphis, red ceiling wax, fishtail, bamboo and other varieties, said Warren Kobatake, owner of Pleasonton nursery.

"We went to Japan in February and March last year and visited people over there," he said. "They do have some smaller raphis palms but don't have very many of the other palms."

Kobatake said the palms found in Japan are not of good quality because of the cold weather and it is expensive to grow palms in heated greenhouses.

The Hawaii palms would be used inside buildings.