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Washingtonia robusta

(Mexican Washington Palm)

Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Chinese:

Guang Ye Jia Zhou Pu Kui, Hua Sheng Dun Kui (Hong Kong), Hua Sheng Dun Zong, Zhuang Gan Zong Lü (Taiwan)

Common Names in English:

Mexican Fan Palm, Mexican Washington Palm, Mexican Washingtonia, Thread Palm, Washington Fan Palm, Washingtonia

Common Names in French:

Palmier évantail Du Méxique, Palmier évantail Du Mexique

Common Names in German:

Petticoat-Palme, Priesterpalme, Washingtonie

Common Names in Japanese:

Onijuro, Washinton Yashi Modoki

Common Names in Norwegian:

Trådpalme

Common Names in Russian:

Vashingtonia Moshchnaia

Common Names in Spanish:

Palmera De Abanico, Washingtonia Colorada

Description

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Genus Washingtonia

Plants tree palms. Stems solitary, erect , tall, massive in one species (more than 10020 cm diam.) (100--150 cm diam.), partly or completely covered with old leaf bases and marcescent dry leaves forming conspicuous skirt around trunk . Leaves: sheath fibers soft; petiole split at base, conspicuously armed with teeth along margins , sometimes unarmed in tall plants; abaxial hastula absent; adaxial hastula irregularly shaped, margin becoming tattered, fibrous ; costa prominent ; blade costapalmate ; plication induplicate ; segments lanceolate, basally connate , bearing fibers between segments; apices 2-cleft or irregularly tattered into fibers. Inflorescences axillary within crown of leaves, paniculate , arching well beyond leaves, with 2 orders of branching; prophyll leathery; rachis bracts very conspicuous, tubular at base, distally flattened and leathery, long; rachillae glabrous . Flowers bisexual , borne singly along rachillae, short- pedicellate ; perianth 2-seriate; calyx cupulate , 3-lobed, apices and margins irregular; petals 3, long, chaffy , basally connate into tube ; stamens 6, adnate briefly to petals; pistils 3, distinct basally, glabrous; styles connate, slender, long; stigma inconspicuous. Fruits drupes, blackish, ellipsoid ; exocarp smooth ; mesocarp thin, fleshy ; endocarp thin. Seeds ellipsoid; endosperm homogeneous ; embryo basal; eophyll undivided, lanceolate. n = 18.

Species 2: w North America, nw Mexico.

The two species are easy to distinguish when cultivated side by side, but they are sometimes difficult to identify from herbarium specimens. Analysis of flavonoids (S. Zona and R. Scogin 1988) can reliably distinguish the two species."Washingtonia". in Flora of North America Vol. 22 Page 105. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org.

Physical Description

Habit: Erect

Flowers: Bloom Period: July, August. • Flower Color: Pink • Flower Conspicuous: Arching clusters of tubular flowers

Foliage: Reddish tinges to undersides, fan-shaped bright-green leaves • Foliage Shape: Fan-shaped • Normal foliage color: Green • Underside foliage: Reddish • Juvenile foliage: Green • Mature foliage: Green • New foliage: Green • Spring foliage: Green • Summer foliage: Green • Fall foliage: Green • Winter foliage: Green

Size/Age/Growth

Growth Rate: Fast Growing • Size: Fast-growing to 50 to 60 ft . high, 10 to 15 ft. wide, larger with time.

Landscaping

Care: Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Watering can be reduced after establishment. Feed with a general purpose fertilizer before new growth begins in spring .

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Culture: Space over 40' apart.

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full sun

Moisture: Water Requirements: Once established needs only occasional water.

Temperature: Heat Zones: High: 12 (>210 days) Low:8 (>90 to 120 days) (map) • Cold Hardiness: 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11. (map)

Taxonomy

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Unambiguous Synonyms

  1. Washingtonia filifera robusta Parish
  2. Washingtonia filifera var. robusta Parish
  3. Washingtonia gracilis Parish
  4. Washingtonia sonorae S. Wats.

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

An accepted name in the RHS Horticultural Database.

Place of publication : Gart.-Zeitung (Berlin) 2:198. 1883

Name verified on 01-Nov-1985 by ARS Systematic Botanists. Last updated: 15-Nov-1998

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Washingtonia

There are approximately 26 species in this genus:

W. ambigua · W. americana · W. bolanderi · W. brachypoda · W. brevipes · W. claytoni · W. filifera (American Cotton Palm) · W. gaudichaudii · W. gigantea · W. intermedia · W. laxa · W. leibergi · W. leibergii · W. lindenii · W. longistylis var. laxa · W. martii · W. mexicana · W. nuda · W. occidentalis · W. pacifica · W. remota · W. robusta (Mexican Fan Palm) · W. robusta var. gracilis · W. thurstonii · W. vuylstekeana · W. x filibusta

Bibliography

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More Info

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 01, 2008:

Identifiers

Footnotes

Last Revised: 2008-11-03