A group of California fan palms against a blue sky
Stable

California Fan Palm

Washingtonia filifera
  • Division: Tracheophyta
  • Class: Liliopsida (monocotyledons)
  • Order: Arecales
  • Family: Arecaceae
  • Genus: Washingtonia
  • Species: filifera

OVERVIEW

Native to deserts of the southwestern US and Baja California, Mexico, California fan palms cluster around year-round sources of water: streams, springs, and seeps. They are the only palm native to the western US, where they tolerate hot summer and freezing winter temperatures. They provide shade and shelter, habitat for wildlife including canyon tree frogs Hyla arenicolor, Pacific chorus frogs Pseudacris regilla, Baja ratsnakes Bogertophis rosaliae, western yellow bats Lasiurus xanthinus, and many birds. Their fruits ripen and drop in winter, providing food for coyotes Canis latrans, which are important seed disseminators for these palms.

CHARACTERISTICS

The sturdy trunk of this palm rises to support the roundish crown of tough, fan-shaped fronds that give the California fan palm its name. Sharply toothed at the base, fronds can be 5 to 10 feet (1.5 to 3 meters) long, with many thread-like fibers unraveling from the leaf segment margins. Dead fronds hang from the tree, forming a thick skirt. White or yellow flowers bloom in early spring. California fan palms may reach 60 feet (18 meters) tall and 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 meters) wide at the crown

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CULTIVATION

California fan palms grow best full sun, with good drainage. They are a good choice for California gardens in dry areas with moderately alkaline soils.

USES

Indigenous people of North America used leaf fibers for making baskets and sandals. Entire leaves were sometimes used for thatching.

NESTS

In California, hooded orioles use this palm's unraveling leaf fibers to make nests, sometimes using the fibers to "sew" their suspended nest onto a palm frond.

WHAT'S IN THE NAME

Notice this plant's Latin name: Washingtonia filifera. It was named in honor of our first president, George Washington, and for its fibrous leaf tips, which give the plant a wispy appearance (filifera means "having fern-like leaves").

OUR COLLECTION

See California fan palms thriving at the Safari Park in the Nativescapes Garden and the Baja Garden, in World Gardens.

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