| Brahea armata | |
|---|---|
 | |
| In habitat | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Arecales |
| Family: | Arecaceae |
| Tribe: | Trachycarpeae |
| Genus: | Brahea |
| Species: | B. armata |
| Binomial name | |
| Brahea armata | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Brahea armata, commonly known as Mexican blue palm or blue hesper palm, is a large evergreen tree of the palm family Arecaceae, endemic to Baja California, Mexico. It is widely planted as an ornamental.
It grows to a height of 15 metres (49 ft), [4] with a stout trunk. Its distinctly bluish leaves are 1–2 metres (3 ft 3 in – 6 ft 7 in) wide, with 1-metre (3 ft 3 in) long petioles. The leaves are persistent in nature, forming a shag around the trunk; in cultivation they are typically burned or cut off. The inflorescences extend out beyond the crown, reaching 5 metres (16 ft) in length. The flowers themselves are small, appearing in February and March, while the fruits are 18–24 millimetres (0.71–0.94 in) in length, brown and with a generally ovoid to globose shape.
This species is endemic to the Mexican state of Baja California, distributed from just south of the international border near the Jacumba Mountains to the central desert and Isla Angel de la Guarda. Plants growing in the Sierra de San Francisco in Baja California Sur may be of a different species. [5] It is locally common in arroyos and canyon bottoms, and has been observed growing in rock crevices at higher elevations. It is sometimes found with Washingtonia filifera or Washingtonia robusta .
Brahea armata has an attractive appearance, especially when young, and is commonly available at nurseries in the American southwest and in warm temperate locations elsewhere. In the UK it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [6] It is drought tolerant (although occasional deep irrigation is recommended), can handle both partial shade and full sun, and temperatures down to −10 °C (14 °F). It is found under a variety of names, including "Mexican blue palm", "blue hesper palm", "big blue hesper palm", "blue fan palm", "sweet brahea", and "palma blanca".
The Cocopah people ate the seeds after roasting them.
The Sonoran Desert is a hot desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States. It is the hottest desert in both Mexico and the United States. It has an area of 260,000 square kilometers (100,000 sq mi).
Washingtonia is a genus of palms, native to the southwestern United States and northwest Mexico. Both Washingtonia species are commonly cultivated across the Southern United States, the Middle East, southern Europe, and North Africa, where they have greatly hybridized.
The Chavez Ravine Arboretum, in Elysian Park, just north of Dodger Stadium, at 1025 Elysian Park Dr, Los Angeles, California, contains more than 100 varieties of trees from around the world, including what are believed to be the oldest and largest Cape Chestnut, Kauri, and Tipu trees in the United States. Admission to the arboretum is free.
Washingtonia filifera, the desert fan palm, California fan palm, or California palm, is a flowering plant in the palm family Arecaceae, native to the far southwestern United States and Baja California, Mexico. Growing to 15–20 m (49–66 ft) tall by 3–6 m (10–20 ft) broad, it is an evergreen monocot with a tree-like growth habit. It has a sturdy, columnar trunk and waxy, fan-shaped (palmate) leaves.
Hesperocyparis guadalupensis, commonly known as Guadalupe cypress, is a species of western cypress from Guadalupe Island in the Pacific Ocean off the western coast of Mexico's Baja Peninsula. It was previously known as Cupressus guadalupensis until 2009. It is a medium-sized tree with fine green to blue-green foliage. In its native habitat it depends on water from the fogs that envelop high ground in the northern half of the island. It became an endangered species due to feral goats living on Guadalupe Island that – for more than a century – prevented new trees from growing. In 2005 the goats were finally removed from the tree's island home as part of an island restoration project. New trees are growing and other plants are beginning to recover, though the future of the species is not yet assured. Guadalupe cypress is closely related to the vulnerable Tecate cypress, which grows on the mainland in Baja California and southern California. It is used as an ornamental tree in Mediterranean climates, particularly in Europe, but has no other significant human uses.
Washingtonia robusta, known by common name as the Mexican fan palm, Mexican washingtonia, or skyduster is a palm tree native to the Baja California peninsula and a small part of Sonora in northwestern Mexico. Despite its limited native distribution, W. robusta one of the most widely cultivated subtropical palms in the world. It is naturalized in Florida, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Hawaii, Texas, parts of the Canary Islands, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Malta, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen, Iran, Afghanistan, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Réunion,.
Brahea is a genus of palms in the family Arecaceae. They are commonly referred to as hesper palms and are endemic to Mexico and Central America. All Hesper Palms have large, fan-shaped leaves. The generic name honours Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601).
Brahea edulis, the Guadalupe palm or palma de Guadalupe, is a palm endemic to Guadalupe Island, Mexico, although a few stands have been planted elsewhere. It is a fan palm which grows 4.50 to 13 metres tall. It grows on the island between 400 and 1,000 metres above mean sea level (ASL), with this altitudinal zonation producing one of the few fog oases present in North America.
Vachellia constricta, also known commonly as the whitethorn acacia, is a shrub native to Mexico and the Southwestern United States.
The Gulf of California xeric scrub is a xeric shrubland ecoregion of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula.
The San Lucan xeric scrub is a xeric shrubland ecoregion of the southernmost Baja California Peninsula, in Los Cabos Municipality and eastern La Paz Municipality of southern Baja California Sur state, Mexico.
Bursera microphylla, known by the common name elephant tree in English or 'torote' in Spanish, is a tree in the genus Bursera. It grows into a distinctive sculptural form, with a thickened, water-storing or caudiciform trunk. It is found in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.
Pachycormus is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the cashew family commonly known as the Baja elephant tree, torote blanco, or copalquín. The single species Pachycormus discolor is endemic to the Baja California peninsula, with three varieties. This sarcocaulescent tree or shrub is characterized by its unique gnarled growth habit, skin-like exfoliating bark, and succulent nature, whose appearance has been colorfully described as "the proboscis of an elephant holding a nosegay," a "huge radish protruding from the ground," or "grotesque resemblances of the flexed limbs of a corpulent human being." This drought-deciduous species spends most of the year dormant, but following rains pinnate green leaves emerge, and in the late spring to summer the leaves yellow, fall, and give way to bright red, cream, or pink flowers that give it a striking appearance in bloom.
Cylindropuntia californica is a species of cholla cactus known by the common name snake cholla. It is primarily found in Baja California, Mexico and the southernmost part of California in the United States. It is characterized by a short, decumbent habit, yellow-green flowers, elongated stems, and short spines. It is mostly found in coastal sage scrub and coastal chaparral habitats, but two varieties in Baja California can be found in foothills and deserts. In California, variety californica is regarded as a rare and threatened plant, with a California Native Plant Society listing of 1B.1, in part due to its limited number of occurrences and threats from development. It formerly was considered to have a larger range due to the inclusion of Cylindropuntia bernardina within it as the variety parkeri.
B. armata may refer to:
Trachycarpeae is a tribe of palms in subfamily Coryphoideae of the plant family Arecaceae. It has the widest distribution of any tribe in Coryphoideae and is found on all continents, though the greatest concentration of species is in Southeast Asia. Trachycarpeae includes palms from both tropical and subtropical zones; the northernmost naturally-occurring palm is a member of this tribe. Several genera can be found in cultivation in temperate areas, for example species of Trachycarpus, Chamaerops, Rhapidophyllum and Washingtonia.
Lysiloma candidum, most commonly known as the palo blanco, is a tree of the family Fabaceae near-endemic to the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It may grow to a height of 10 metres (33 ft) and is one of the few spineless woody legumes in the region. It has compound leaves with oval gray-green leaflets. The creamy-white, globose clusters of flowers bloom in March through May and perfume the air with a light, spicy fragrance. The flowers are followed by red-brown pods up to 15 centimetres (5.9 in) long that hang delicately on the thin branches. This species is distributed throughout the Baja California Peninsula, from Rancho El Barril in southern Baja California state to the Cape region of Baja California Sur, and is also very rarely found in the state of Sonora.
Ruellia californica is a species of flowering plant in the Acanthus family commonly known as the rama parda or flor del campo. This evergreen shrub is native to the Baja California peninsula and neighboring coastal Sonora. It is characterized by showy, funnelform blue-purple flowers that bloom throughout the year. There are two subspecies, one endemic to Baja California Sur, and they primarily differ in their presence or absence of hairs on their foliage. This plant is cultivated as an ornamental, and is used to provide a colorful accent to desert and dry gardens.
Brahea dulcis, the sweet hesper palm or apak palm, is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is native to dry woodlands of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and Honduras. A single-trunked palm reaching 7.5 m (25 ft) with edible fruit and green to blue-green leaves, it is occasionally available from commercial suppliers.
