Phoenix canariensis
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Phoenix canariensis habit |
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Phoenix canariensis habit |
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Phoenix canariensis leaf scars on stem |
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Phoenix canariensis stem base and roots |
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Phoenix canariensis canopy from below |
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Phoenix canariensis leaves with twisted rachis |
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Phoenix canariensis leaves with leaflets in several planes |
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Phoenix canariensis leaf bases. Photograph courtesy of Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, Guide to Palms http://palmguide.org/index.php |
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Phoenix canariensis fruit. Photograph courtesy of Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, Guide to Palms http://palmguide.org/index.php |
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Phoenix canariensis single seed (left) and fruit (right). Photograph courtesy of Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, Guide to Palms http://palmguide.org/index.php |
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Phoenix canariensis seeds (MBC photo: 010419-1). Photograph courtesy of Montgomery Botanical Center http://www.montgomerybotanical.org/ |
Common name
Canary Island date palm, palmera canaria, pineapple palm
Description
Stems: Solitary, massive, erect to 20 m tall and 1 m in diameter, bulging with above ground roots at the base and sometimes bulging at the top of the stem with old leafleaf:
in palms -- the leaf blade (which is usually divided into leaflets or leaf segments), the petiole (or leaf stalk) and the sheath (which forms the attachment of the leaf to the stem)
bases and fibers; ring scars are prominent, raised, and undulating or diamond- or canoe-shaped. Leaves: Pinnatepinnate:
like a feather; palms with pinnate leaves usually have compound leaflets attached to a rachis, although a pinnate leaf may be entire with pinnate veins (e.g., <em>Chamaedorea metallica</em>)
, induplicateinduplicate:
Most palm leaflets or leaf segments are obviously folded. If the folds create a V-shape, with the midrib lower than the margins (so that rain might fall "into a valley"), the folding is induplicate.
, to 7 m long, with a stiffly arching, twisted rachisrachis:
an extension of the petiole through the blade of a pinnate leaf to which leaflets are attached
which ends in a single leaflet; many narrow, dull green leaflets, arranged in several planes, but with only a slight difference among the angles of insertion; the lowermost leaflets (along the short petiole) are modified into sharp, thin spines; and no crown shaftcrown shaft:
a cylinder of clasping leaf sheaths toward the apex of the stem, found in some pinnate-leaved palms (e.g., <em>Wodyetia bifurcata</em>)
is formed from leafleaf:
in palms -- the leaf blade (which is usually divided into leaflets or leaf segments), the petiole (or leaf stalk) and the sheath (which forms the attachment of the leaf to the stem)
sheaths. Flowers and fruit: Inflorescences are orange-colored, to 1-2 m long, and branched to one order. Staminatestaminate:
a flower bearing stamens but no pistils; a “male” flower
and pistillatepistillate:
a flower bearing a pistil but no stamens; a “female” flower
flowers are produced on different plants and are yellow in color. Fruits are up to 2.5-4 cm long, ovoid and scarlet to orange-red when ripe.
Diagnostic features
Field: Solitary, massive palm, erect to 20 m tall and 1 m in diameter, bulging with above ground roots at the base and sometimes bulging at the top of the stem with old leafleaf:
in palms -- the leaf blade (which is usually divided into leaflets or leaf segments), the petiole (or leaf stalk) and the sheath (which forms the attachment of the leaf to the stem)
bases and fibers; ring scars are prominent, raised, and undulating or diamond- or canoe-shaped. Pinnatepinnate:
like a feather; palms with pinnate leaves usually have compound leaflets attached to a rachis, although a pinnate leaf may be entire with pinnate veins (e.g., <em>Chamaedorea metallica</em>)
, induplicateinduplicate:
Most palm leaflets or leaf segments are obviously folded. If the folds create a V-shape, with the midrib lower than the margins (so that rain might fall "into a valley"), the folding is induplicate.
leaves with spines formed from basal leaflets. Leaflets inserted in several planes, but with small differences in the angle.
May be confused with
Other Phoenix species, but the stem and leaflet arrangement are distinctive.
Distribution
Native to the Canary Islands
Additional comments
Because Phoenix species can hybridize easily and produce fertile crosses, determining the species within this genus might not be possible.
Scientific name
Phoenix canariensis Hort. ex Chabaud
Family
Arecaceae/Palmae
Synonyms
Phoenix macrocarpa Hort. ex Sauvag.
