Washington Palm

The Washington palm (Washingtonia filifera) is native to Southern California, Western Arizona and Mexico. This palm tree adapts perfectly to summer droughts and also withstands short cold spells of temperatures as low as -10°C. That is why it is also cultivated far from the coast, up to 800 metres above sea level. In the Alhambra, and specifically in the sunny Jardín de los Adarves (785 metres above sea level), it grows with great vigour reaching more than a metre in diameter. In contrast with the Date palm and the Canary Island date palm, it has palmate leaves, the stipe (false trunk) is much thinner and it is a much taller tree (up to 25m). Its name is in honour of the first president of the United States of America, George Washington, and the Latin epithet “filifera” means “with fibres”. This rustic species adapts well to transplanting, to a lack of water and poor soil and it multiplies very well from seeds. It was introduced in the Alhambra in the early 20th century.