Pronunciation: bra-HEE-uh ED-yuh-liss
Common Name: Guadalupe Palm
Brahea edulis is far more common a landscape palm in California than many realize, since its appearance immediately looks a lot like a Washingtonia unless one looks closely.
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Appearance and Biology
- Habit: solitary with a dense crown of 20-30 leaves
- Height: 30'
- Trunk: single; 12" thick; clean though a small petticoat of dead leaves can persist near crown; grey; very 'lumpily' and closely ringed
- Crownshaft: none
- Spread: 8'-12'
- Leaf Description: moderately costapalmate; medium green to yellow-green; 4'-6' long; semi-circular; leaves divided about 1/3 their length
- Petiole/Leaf bases: 2'-3' long; armed with small, marginal teeth; medium green to yellow-green
- Reproduction: monoecious
- Inflorescence: 4' long; from within crown; barely visible among leaves- just as long as leaves a bit shorter; branched and branches have their own branches; yellow flowers
- Fruit: 1"; spherical; olive green turning to black when ripe
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Horticultural Characteristics
- Minimum Temp: 20F
- Drought Tolerance: good
- Dry Heat Tolerance: excellent
- Wind Tolerance: fair to good
- Salt Tolerance: low
- Growth Rate: slow
- Soil Preference: very adaptable but prefers less acidic soils
- Light Requirement: full sun
- Human Hazards: mildly annoying petiolar teeth
- Disease or Horticultural Problems: few in California- more troublesome back east in humid climates
- Transplants?: difficult to transplant successfully, but not impossible
- Indoor?: poor choice
- Availability: relatively common, but not readily available from standard nurseries
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Huntington Gardens, southern California
Fullerton Arboretum, Orange county, California
San Fernando valley, California
seedling, Santa Barbara botanical gardens, California
fruits in Huntington gardens
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