Washingtonia
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Washingtonia is a genus of palms, native to the southwestern United States (in southern California, southwest Arizona) and northwest Mexico (in northern Baja California and Sonora).
They are fan palms (Arecaceae tribe Corypheae), with the leaves with a bare petiole terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflets. The flowers are in a dense inflorescence, with the fruits maturing into a small blackish-brown drupe 6-10 mm diameter with a thin layer of sweet flesh over the single seed.
There are two species:
- Washingtonia filifera (Lindl. ex André) H.Wendl. California Washingtonia, Northern Washingtonia, California fan palm, or Desert fan palm. Tree to 23 m tall; leaves large, with petiole up to 2 m long, and leaflets up to 2 m long. Inflorescence to 5 m long; flowers white; fruit oval. Southwestern USA, just into extreme northwest Mexico.
- Washingtonia robusta H.Wendl. Mexican Washingtonia or Southern Washingtonia. Tree to 25 m tall; leaves smaller, with petiole up to 1 m long, and leaflets up to 1 m long. Inflorescence to 3 m long; flowers pale orange-pink; fruit spherical. Northwest Mexico.
The fruit is edible, and was used by Native American people as a minor food source. They are also eaten by birds, which disperse the seeds in their droppings after digesting the fruit pulp. Washingtonia species are also used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Paysandisia archon.
Both species are cultivated as ornamental trees, widely planted in California in particular, but also in extreme southwest Utah and the Mediterranean region in southern Europe, and parts of Australia.
The genus is named after George Washington.
