Washingtonia fan palm

Seeds: 12  / Botanical name: Washingtonia robusta

The American presidential palm tree

Washingtonia fan palms grow quickly and completely upright with a beautifully slender silhouette. A characteristic feature is their circular, brown, fuzzy hair at the base of the leaf stalk and the white fibers that emerge from the leaf lobes. Dried leaves eventually cover the trunk, protecting it from fire in its natural habitat and giving the Washingtonia its name, the petticoat palm. The bright green, large fan-shaped leaves grow from the reddish-brown, spiny leaf stalk.

Native to the southern Baja California peninsula in Mexico, Washingtonia robusta is also the most commonly planted palm in Southern California and the US states of Texas, Phoenix, and Tucson.