Palms For California

Pronunciation: bra-HEE-uh MORE-ee-eye

Common Name: Dwarf Rock Palm

Brahea moorei is on many growers 'want list' as it a magnificent palm, but an extremely rare one. This is a smallish, 'user-friendly', single or clustering, basically trunkless palm with soft, blue-green leaves, no petiolar spines and nearly pure white undersides to the leaves. As a young palm it has relatively common looking circular green leaves, but as it matures (which takes many years) the leaves eventually turn a greyish-blue-green color with ornamental white leaflet divisions. Mature palms are scarce in California, but some exist in northern California UC Berkeley Botanical Gardens (see below), and here in there in southern California

Appearance and Biology Habit: solitary or clustering with a crown of 10-15 fan leaves Height: overall height 3'-4' (trunkless) Trunk: underground Crownshaft: none Spread: 4'-6'+ Leaf Description: palmate; circular; bright, shiny green on top for many years, but eventually becoming a bit gray-green; divided 2/3-3/4 of leaf length; white lines demarking the leaflet borders of the un-split parts of the leaf; leaves nearly pure white underneath; leaf texture is unusually soft and pliable for a Brahea; 3'-4' long Petiole/Leaf bases: pale blue-grey; 2'-3' long; unarmed Reproduction: monoecious Inflorescence: extend above the leaf crown; branched; no flowering palms in California (yet) Fruit:

Horticultural Characteristics Minimum Temp: 22F Drought Tolerance: good Dry Heat Tolerance: very good Wind Tolerance: good Salt Tolerance: unknown Growth Rate: very slow Soil Preference: adaptable Light Requirement: filtered sun to full sun Human Hazards: none Disease or Horticultural Problems: none Transplants?: unknown Indoor?: unknown Availability: extremely rare