Washingtonia Palm

Washingtonia robusta H. Wendl.

Wash-ing-TONE-ee-ah row-BUST-ah

Arecaceae

Explanation of name: Generic name for George Washington according to JON. Robusta is self-explanatory.

Natural range: Mexico, especially Baja California. Arid regions along streams or otherwise with subsurface water (MEE, RI2)

Recognition: Tall, single-trunked, palm with palmate leaves, these stiff (but sometimes with drooping tips) and costapalmate. Distinctively with fierce, orange recurved teeth along the petiole. Chinese Fan Palm (Livistona chinensis) has costapalmate leaves with teeth on the petiole but differs by having much droopier leaf tips, smaller petiole teeth, these restricted to the lower half of the petiole, and by lacking long fibers among the young leaf segments.

Landscape uses: Very fast-growing, eventually extremely tall palms planted extensively in South Florida. The growth rate, height, constant production of dead leaves, often untidy appearance, and painful petiole spines should give homeowners pause before planting. A large specimen at my (G. Rogers) home in Jupiter snapped off 6’ above ground in Hurricane Wilma. Germination in 1-2 months (ELL).