Pronunciation: bra-HEE-uh ah-kew-lee-AH-tuh
Common Name: Sinaloa Hesper Palm
Brahea aculeata is a very hardy smaller fan palm for California. It is a great palm for the desert as it is very drought and heat tolerant, once established. But if grown in more lush environments and trimmed, it can be a very ornamental, somewhat dainty, Brahea.
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Appearance and Biology
- Habit: solitary with a crown of 15-25 fan leaves
- Height: 25'
- Trunk: single; 8" thick; usually covered with old leaf bases but older palms can have clean trunks; clean trunks have very rough grey-brown surfaces from old leaf scars; sometimes upper trunk covered with dense skirt of dead leaves
- Crownshaft: none
- Spread: 4'-8'
- Leaf Description: mildly costapalmate (nearly flat); pale green to light green, sometimes yellowy in very arid situations; 3'-5' long; leaves divided 1/3-1/2 their length; leaflets floppy at tips; semicircular shape
- Petiole/Leaf bases: flattish and armed with closely spaced, pale teeth; 2' long; pale green; unsplit leaf bases, often remaining on trunk for many years
- Reproduction: monoecious
- Inflorescence: 3'-4' long, arching, from within crown and sometimes extending out beyond it a ways; lots of smaller side branches; white flowers
- Fruit: 1" thick; spherical-ish (sometimes a bit lumpy); olive green turning to black when ripe
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Horticultural Characteristics
- Minimum Temp: 20F
- Drought Tolerance: very good
- Dry Heat Tolerance: very good
- Cool Tolerance: very good
- Wind Tolerance: good
- Salt Tolerance: unknown
- Growth Rate: slow
- Soil Preference: very adaptable
- Light Requirement: full sun
- Human Hazards: sharp, but small, petiolar teeth
- Disease or Horticultural Problems: tends to nutrient deficiency, but probably because grown in desert soils often
- Transplants?: unknown, but suspect poor mover
- Indoor?: not likely possible
- Availability: rare but often available at local palm nurseries
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