ARECACEAE

PALM FAMILY

Elizabeth McClintock

Shrub, tree, evergreen, monoecious, dioecious, or flowers bisexual
Stem: trunk generally ± erect, unbranched
Leaves splitting to be palmately or pinnately dissected or compound, alternate, forming a terminal crown, large; base sheathing; petiole often long
Inflorescence: generally large panicle, axillary; peduncle sheathed by 1 or more large bracts; flowers many, generally ± sessile
Flower generally small, ± radial; sepals and petals generally 3, sometimes similar, fused at base or free; stamens generally 6; pistils 1 or 3, ovaries superior, generally 3, (if 1, chambers generally 3), styles free or fused
Fruit: often a drupe
Seed 1
Genera in family: ± 200 genera, 3,000 species: tropical, subtropical; many cultivated, especially for ornamental
Reference: [Uhl & Dransfield 1987 Genera Palmarum]
Used for food (fats, oils, fruits, seeds) and building materials.

WASHINGTONIA

FAN PALM

Tree
Leaves persistent as a "skirt," palmately divided; segments folded longitudinally with margins upward; petiole margins and lower blade generally spiny
Inflorescence within crown, > leaves
Flower bisexual; perianth white; calyx lobes 3, ± erect; corolla lobes 3, reflexed; ovary 3-lobed, chambers 3
Species in genus: 2 species: deserts of s CA, AZ, n Mex
Etymology: (George Washington, 1st president, US, 1732–1799)
Reference: [Bailey 1936 Gentes Herb 4:52–82]
Widely cultivated as ornamental, CA to Florida.

Native

W. filifera (André) de Bary

CALIFORNIA FAN PALM

Stem: trunk thick, robust, < 20 m; base generally not swollen
Leaf gray-green; petiole 1–2 m; blade 1–2 m, divided nearly to middle, segments 40–60, margins with thread-like fibers, tips ± reflexed
Fruit oblong or ovate, black
Ecology: UNCOMMON (but locally abundant). Groves, moist places, seeps, springs, streamsides
Elevation: < 1200 m.
Bioregional distribution: Sonoran Desert
Distribution outside California: se Arizona, n Baja California
Flowering time: Jun
Reportedly naturalized along Kern River (Kern Co.) and near springs in DMoj (Death Valley National Monument); expected elsewhere
Horticultural information: SUN: 14, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24 &IRR: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21.