The California fan palm is the only palm native to the southwestern United States, growing in groves around desert springs and oases. It has a massive trunk, gray-green fan leaves trailing white threads, and a shaggy "petticoat" of dead fronds. It's also called the desert fan palm.
Appearance
- Appearance
- A single-trunked palm usually 30–50 ft (9–15 m) tall and up to about 75 ft (23 m), with a very thick trunk that can weigh up to about three tons. Unless burned or trimmed, dead fronds hang down the trunk in a thick skirt.
- Leaves
- Fan-shaped, gray-green leaves about 3–6 ft (1–2 m) across. Threadlike white fibers dangle between the leaf segments, and the leaf stalks carry small blunt teeth with mostly green bases.
- Flowers
- Tiny cream-colored flowers hang in long, branched clusters.
- Fruit
- Black, single-seeded fruits about 1/2–3/4 in (1–2 cm) across ripen in fall. A mature palm can produce thousands a season, and after a fire one tree can make up to 350,000 seeds.
Look-alikes
Mexican fan palmWashingtonia robusta
The Mexican fan palm is taller with a much skinnier trunk, glossy bright-green leaves with fewer threads, and sharper teeth on leaf stalks that are reddish brown at the base.
Why they get mixed upBoth are widely planted as ornamentals, and the two species hybridize.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- desert oases
- springs
- canyon streams
- Range
- Native to the low, hot deserts of southern California, with smaller groves in Arizona and in Baja California, Mexico. There are only about 118 desert fan palm oases in North America, seven of them in Joshua Tree National Park.
- Preferred conditions
- Grows only where water reaches the surface year-round, often along fault lines that push groundwater upward. Its root network can spread about 20 ft (6 m) in every direction.
Life cycle
- Seed dispersal
- Coyotes, foxes, and birds eat the fruit and spread the seeds; seeds that pass through coyotes travel far and sprout better.
- Lifespan
- Often 80–90 years; some palms are thought to live considerably longer.
Growing it
- Care
- Widely planted as an ornamental and rated hardy to 8. It handles brief cold down to about 14°F (−10°C) with minor damage and does best in dry, Mediterranean-type climates.
Name and classification
- About the name
- Some recent classifications treat the Mexican fan palm as a variety of this species. The two also hybridize (Washingtonia × filibusta), so planted palms can be hard to sort out.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
- Status
- Ranked critically imperiled within Arizona, where wild groves are few and scattered.
- Threats
- Flash floods are a leading cause of death, especially in narrow canyons. Mature trunks resist fire, which can even help new seedlings by clearing competition.
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- The genus honors George Washington, and filifera means "thread-bearing," for the white fibers on the leaves.
- The Cahuilla people used the leaves for sandals, roof thatch, and baskets, and the woody leaf stalks for cooking utensils.
More species to explore
Record what you meet and build your own collection
Your photos are kept with their date and place, and you can fill regional albums one species at a time.