Pronunciation: FEE-nix poo-SILL-uh
Common Name: Ceylon Date Palm
Phoenix pusilla is a fairly rare palm for California, and possibly because it is not all that ornamental, nor is it terribly hardy (hardy enough for most coastal areas, and inland southern California, but a bit freeze sensitive). It is also a difficult palm to identify with certainty as it seems to be highly variable. In local botanical gardens it seems sometimes that Phoenix that just don't 'fit in' are given this diagnosis. This Indian species is either shrubby and somewhat disagreeable, or it is solitary and 'odd' looking.
Synonyms: Phoenix farinifera; Phoenix zeylanica
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Appearance and Biology
- Habit: solitary or clustering with a crown of 8-12 plumose leaves
- Height: 15' tall
- Trunk: single or multiple; 12" diameter; often with retained, un-split leaf bases over much of its length
- Crownshaft: none
- Spread: 6'-12'+
- Leaf Description: pinnate; plumose; leaflets on two, barely offset planes; somewhat spiny leaflet tips; arching leaves; 6' long; light green;
- Petiole/Leaf bases: leaves turn to spines as leaf base approached; very little actual clear petiole; leaf bases un-split and often retained for many many years
- Reproduction: dioecious
- Inflorescence: 2' long; from within leaves; upright and only arching a bit
- Fruit: ovoid; 1/2" long; pinkish brown when ripe
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Horticultural Characteristics
- Minimum Temp: 25F
- Drought Tolerance: moderate
- Dry Heat Tolerance: good
- Cool Tolerance: moderate
- Wind Tolerance: good
- Salt Tolerance: unknown
- Growth Rate: slow
- Soil Preference: adaptable
- Light Requirement: partial to full sun
- Human Hazards: some spines on leaves near bases
- Disease or Horticultural Problems: unknown
- Transplants?: unknown
- Indoor?: unknown
- Availability: very rare
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Huntington gardens, near Pasadena, California
Los Angeles arboretum, Arcadia, California
Leu Gardens, Orlando, Florida
