Mexican Washington palm
Mexican Washington palm | ||||||||||||
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Washingtonia robusta inflorescence |
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Systematics | ||||||||||||
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Scientific name | ||||||||||||
Washingtonia robusta | ||||||||||||
H. Wendl. |
The Mexican Washington Palm ( Washingtonia robusta ) is a species of palm that is native to Mexico .
features
The trunk is up to 27 m high in old specimens, significantly higher than in the related Washingtonia filifera , it is also slimmer. The leaves are characterized by fewer threads between the segments and on the leaf sheaths. At the base of the leaves there is often a reddish-brown spot that never occurs in W. filifera . The leaf stalk is shorter, especially reddish-brown in young plants, and always has reddish-brown spines.
The older parts of the trunk are gray, the younger parts are covered by chestnut to brown leaf sheaths. These leaf sheaths are usually removed from cultivated palms. The leaves are light to dark green.
Distribution and locations
The species is endemic to Mexico : it occurs only in the southern part of the Baja California peninsula and a small area of the state of Sonora . It grows here along streams and arroyos and near springs.
use
The Mexican Washington palm is one of the most elegant landscape elements of the subtropics. It is characterized by its narrow and very high trunk. It is the most commonly planted palm in southern California , southern Texas , Phoenix, and Tucson . It is more sensitive to cold than its sister species and is only hardy in USDA climate zones 9b to 11. It needs full sunlight.
In culture, hybrids with Washingtonia filifera are common, which combine the cold resistance of Washingtonia filifera with the elegance of Washingtonia robusta . They are referred to as Washingtonia × filibusta Hodel .
Individual evidence
- ^ Walter Erhardt et al .: The great pikeperch: Encyclopedia of plant names. , 2008. Quoted from: Germplasm Resources Information Network , accessed April 17, 2012.
- ^ A b c d e Robert Lee Riffle, Paul Craft: An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms . Timber Press, Portland 2007, ISBN 978-0-88192-558-6 , pp. 473f.