Pronunciation: Fee-nix dack-till-LIF-er-uh
Common Name: Edible Date Palm
Phoenix dactylifera is one of the most commonly grown palms on the planet, as well as one of the most economically important ones as well. Despite it being so common, it is still one of the best, most magnificent and useful landscape palms we can grow in southern California. Thousands of these are planted in public landscaping throughout California, as it also one of our hardiest palms. In addition, it was one of the only edible fruit forming palms we grow in California, with over a dozen varieties grown in the Coachella Valley commercially.
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Appearance and Biology
- Habit: Solitary or suckering (more often the latter) with a large crown of about 20-40 leaves
- Height: 80 feet tall
- Trunk: Single to multiple trunks (usually pruned and kept as single) with naturally retained leaf bases, though that fall off with age showing a geometric, ornamental pattern of leaf scars; 2' thick
- Crownshaft: none
- Spread: 25 feet
- Leaf Shape and color: pinnate; plumose (leaflets form on two different but nearly parallel planes); long (15') arching blue-green to dull green leaves with relatively short, stiff, sharp-tipped, induplicate leaflets
- Petiole: 1' and very heavily armed with very stiff, very sharp, narrow, modified leaflet spines; unsplit leaf bases
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Horticultural Characteristics
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