Tree of the week

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Good morning. After an eventful week -- and let’s face it, more anger and angst about the unraveling of Countrywide -- it’s always nice to talk trees. Pieter Severynen, my tree-loving friend, has chosen a classic this week. Enjoy.

The California Fan Palm - Washingtonia filifera

‘The only palm tree native to California evokes images of oases in the Southern California desert, Palm Springs and Twentynine Palms. In its native habitat, this fan palm grows wherever water comes close to the surface and as such is used as an indicator of potential earthquake faults. Strong and majestic, this moderately fast growing evergreen tree reaches to 60’ tall and 20’ wide, with a massive 2’ or wider gray trunk, ringed with old leaf scars. A thick, bark-like rind surrounds the trunk (like all palms, the tree does not have true wood or bark.) Flower stalks appear in late spring, followed by date-like fruits in fall. The 3’ to 6’ wide fan-shaped gray green leaves are carried on petioles (leaf stalks) armed with vicious, curved thorns. When old leaves die and are not removed they bend down forming a thick ‘skirt’’ that makes a welcome home to owls and rats, snakes and songbirds.

‘The California Cahuilla and the Arizona Paiute Indians lived in the palms’ shade, ate their fruits, used the leaves for thatch, sandals and baskets, and set the trees afire every four years or so. This removed the dead shag, charred the trunks, increased seed production, removed competing plants on the ground and increased spring flows, but it did not kill the trees. In contrast, modern day withdrawal of groundwater for agricultural or urban use and subsequent lowering of the water table is often lethal to the trees; their hundreds of pencil thick roots go down deep but not endlessly so.

‘Named in honor of George Washington (who may have never seen one), the California Fan Palm is used extensively in all Mediterranean climates for street tree and park planting. It is often confused with the more widely grown, invasive, Mexican Fan Palm, Washingtonia robusta, which grows faster and twice as tall, has a thinner, more slender trunk, smaller and thicker leaf crown, deeper green leaves, and reddish or brownish petioles. The Mexican Fan Palm is also immune to the Fusarium wilt fungus that is slowly killing off our Canary Island Palms, Phoenix canariensis, whereas the California Fan Palm is not. To make matters really confusing, the two palms hybridize easily, so that is sometimes difficult to identify particular individuals.’

Thanks, as always, Pieter.
Email Pieter: plseve@earthlink.netnet
Comments? Questions? Email story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com
Photo Credit: desertusa.com
Blogger’s note: The original photo in this post was replaced after a commenter observed that it appeared to depict Mexican Fan Palms. L.A. Land regrets the error.