Food Plants International - Plant Fact Sheets Washingtonia robusta - Desert Fan Palm
Edible portion: Fruit, Seeds, Palm heart, Cabbage
A fan palm. It can be 40 m tall. The trunk is thinner than Washingtonia filifera. It is flared widely at the base. The trunk can be covered with dead leaves. The leaves are large and fan shaped. They are green on both surfaces. There are brown thorns on the leaf stalk. The base of the leaf has a red-brown sheath. Mature palms do not have threads on the leaf blades. The flowering stalk grows from among the leaves and extends beyond them. They are 2-3 m long. Flowers are pink. The fruit are round and black when ripe.
It does best in warm temperate to tropical places. It often grows near the sea in Mexico. It suits arid regions. In Adelaide Botanical Gardens. It suits plant hardiness zones 9-11. Hobart Botanical Gardens.