Phoenix canariensis | |
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Phoenix canariensis at Puntallana on La Palma in the Canary Islands | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Clade: | Commelinids |
Order: | Arecales |
Family: | Arecaceae |
Genus: | Phoenix |
Species: | P. canariensis |
Binomial name | |
Phoenix canariensis | |
Phoenix canariensis, the Canary Island date palm, is a species of flowering plant in the palm family Arecaceae, native to the Canary Islands off the coast of Northwestern Africa. It is a relative of Phoenix dactylifera , the true date palm. It is the natural symbol of the Canary Islands, together with the canary Serinus canaria . [2]
Phoenix canariensis is a large, solitary palm, 10–20 m (33–66 ft) tall, the tallest recorded being 36 m (118 ft) tall. [3] The leaves are pinnate, 4–6 m (13–20 ft) long, with 80–100 leaflets on each side of the central rachis. There are typically around 75 to 125 living leaves on a tree, but the record number were on a tree on the French Riviera, which bore 443 green, fresh leaves at one time. [4] The fruit is an oval, yellow to orange drupe 2 cm (0.79 in) long and 1 cm (0.39 in) in diameter, and containing a single large seed. The fruit pulp is edible, but is not a particularly good date. [5]
The common name in English is Canary Island date palm, although it is sometimes known by its initials, "CIDP". [6] It has also been called "pineapple palm".[ citation needed ] The common name in the Canary Islands and other Spanish-speaking countries is palmera canaria.
The Canary Island date palm is typically cultivated in wet-winter or Mediterranean climates, but also in wet-summer or humid subtropical climates such as eastern Australia and the south-eastern United States. It is also increasingly being cultivated in higher latitude oceanic climates, such as Ireland, the UK, and the Channel Islands. [7] It can be cultivated where temperatures rarely fall below −10 or −12 °C (14 or 10 °F) for extended periods, although it will require some protection if cold periods are longer than normal. Younger specimens, without a sizeable trunk, are more prone to freezing. It is a slow-growing tree, increasing in height by up to 60 cm per year, [8] and is propagated exclusively by seed. Mature P. canariensis are often used in ornamental landscaping and can be fairly readily collected and transplanted to a new planting location.
The palm is easily identified by its crown of leaves and trunk characteristics. Canary Island date palms are often pruned and trimmed to remove the lower, older leaves. [9] When pruned, the bottom of the crown, also called the nut, appears to have a pineapple shape.
The Canary Island date palm is susceptible to Fusarium wilt, a fungal disease commonly transmitted through contaminated seed, soil, and pruning tools. Spread of the disease can be reduced if pruning tools are disinfected before use on each palm. [10] In some parts of its cultivated range it is attacked by the invasive South American palm weevil Rhynchophorus palmarum and Asian palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus . Adult weevils are preferentially attracted to chemicals emitted by injured or damaged palms. The weevil larvae burrow into the crown then feast on the sugar-rich apical bud, which provides a path for bacterial or fungal pests. That typically kills the apical bud after some time, either due to secondary infection by pathogens or due to heavy infestation of larvae, causing the leaves to droop, turn brown and die. [6] [11]
P. canariensis has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [12] [13]
The Canary Island date palm appears in many notable examples of landscaping, particularly in the American state of California. According to legend, it was first planted in what is now San Diego in 1769, by Spanish missionary Junípero Serra, a founder of the California mission system. [14] Though this story is likely false, Spanish missionaries did cultivate true date palms, rather than Canary Island date palms, in California in the late 1700s for the fruit. [15] However, a Canary Island date palm was famously known as "The Serra Palm"—the palm supposedly planted by Junipero Serra in San Diego—before the tree's death in 1957. [14]
Other famous plantings of the Canary Island date palm in California include the campus of Stanford University, which has 600 of the palms in its Mediterranean-inspired campus. Stanford's entrance, Palm Drive, is one example of extensive use of the palm in landscaping, including 166 of the species along the stretch leading to the campus. [16] In Healdsburg, California Canary Island date palms were planted in the town's Plaza in 1897 as part of a campaign to promote the Sonoma County town as a tropical paradise. [17] Oracle Park in San Francisco, the stadium of the Major League Baseball team, the San Francisco Giants, is another notable example of the Canary Island date palm in Californian landscaping, containing a host of the species at the stadium's entrance and beyond left field. [18]
In the Canary Islands, the sap of the date palm is used to make palm syrup. La Gomera is the only island where the syrup is produced in the Canary Islands.
In some areas, P. canariensis has proven to be an invasive plant. In Bermuda and the United States (Florida and California), it is considered naturalised (living wild in a region where it is not indigenous). It has also spread in some areas of peninsular Spain, Portugal, Italy, Croatia, Greece, North Africa, the Middle East, Australia, and New Zealand. [19] [20] [21] It is listed as invasive in coastal southern California. [22] In Auckland, New Zealand, the palm has itself become a host for the naturalised Australian strangler fig Ficus macrophylla .[ citation needed ]
Phoenix dactylifera, commonly known as the date palm, is a flowering-plant species in the palm family Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across northern Africa, the Middle East, the Horn of Africa, Australia, South Asia, and California. It is naturalized in many tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. P. dactylifera is the type species of genus Phoenix, which contains 12–19 species of wild date palms.
Pinus canariensis, the Canary Island pine, is a species of gymnosperm in the conifer family Pinaceae. It is a large, evergreen tree, native and endemic to the outer Canary Islands of the Atlantic Ocean.
Phoenix is a genus of 14 species of palms, native to an area starting from the Canary Islands in the west, across northern and central Africa, to the extreme southeast of Europe (Crete), and continuing throughout southern Asia, from Anatolia east to southern China and Malaysia. The diverse habitats they occupy include swamps, deserts, and mangrove sea coasts. Most Phoenix species originate in semi-arid regions, but usually occur near high groundwater levels, rivers, or springs. The genus is unusual among members of subfamily Coryphoideae in having pinnate, rather than palmate leaves; tribe Caryoteae also have pinnate or bipinnate leaves.
Arbutus is a genus of 12 accepted species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, native to temperate regions of the Mediterranean, western Europe, the Canary Islands and North America, and commonly called madrones or strawberry trees. The name Arbutus was taken by taxonomists from Latin, where it referred to the species now designated Arbutus unedo.
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.
Quercus canariensis, the Algerian oak, Mirbeck's oak or zean oak, is an oak native to southern Portugal, Spain, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Despite the scientific name, it does not occur naturally today in the Canary Islands. It is placed in section Quercus.
The palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus is one of two species of snout beetle known as the red palm weevil, Asian palm weevil or sago palm weevil. The adult beetles are relatively large, ranging between 2 and 4 centimetres long, and are usually a rusty red colour—but many colour variants exist and have often been classified as different species. Weevil larvae can excavate holes in the trunks of palm trees up to 1 metre (3.3 ft) long, thereby weakening and eventually killing the host plant. As a result, the weevil is considered a major pest in palm plantations, including the coconut palm, date palm and oil palm.
Malva acerifolia, also frequently known under the synonyms Lavatera acerifolia or Malva canariensis is a shrub endemic to the Canary Islands, belonging to the family Malvaceae.
Phoenix sylvestris also known as silver date palm, Indian date, sugar date palm or wild date palm, is a species of flowering plant in the palm family native to southern Pakistan, most of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh. It has been introduced to southeastern China, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Puerto Rico and the Leeward Islands. Growing in plains and scrubland up to 1300 m above sea level, the fruit from this palm species is used to make wine and jelly. The sap is tapped and drunk fresh or fermented into toddy. The fresh sap is boiled to make palm jaggery in West Bengal state of India and Bangladesh.
Genista canariensis is a species of flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae, known by the common names Canary broom, Canary Islands broom or florist's genista. It is native to the Canary Islands, but it grows as an introduced species in mainland Europe, especially Spain, and on other continents. It has been introduced to California and Washington State in the US. This is a vigorous upright evergreen shrub growing to 3 m (9.8 ft) tall by 1.5 m (4.9 ft) broad, with hairy green stems. The leaves are made up of oval-shaped blue-green leaflets each up to a centimeter long and densely hairy on the undersides. The raceme inflorescence holds up to 20 bright yellow pea-like flowers. The fruit is a legume pod one to two centimeters long containing several dark brown seeds.
The palmetto weevil is an insect native to Florida, but has been found as far as southern Texas to the west and South Carolina to the north. It is the largest weevil in North America and the only kind of palm weevil in the continental United States. It infests palms and is considered a pest. Its main target is the Canary Island date palm, but date palms, sabal palms, saw palmetto, Washingtonia, Pritchardia, royal palms, Latania, coconut palms, Caryota, and Bismarckia are also susceptible. Distressed palm trees are usually attacked, which makes transplanted trees a frequent target. The Palmetto Weevils mate at the base of the palm branches where the females deposit their eggs. The grubs then eat into the palm tree, killing it. After the larvae have turned into adult weevils, the damage can be seen, but by then, it is considered to be too late for the tree. The life cycle from egg to adult for a palmetto weevil is about 84 days. For prevention, it is recommended an appropriate insecticidal crown drench is done twice a year for high value palms.
The palm weevil Rhynchophorus vulneratus is one of two species of snout beetle known as the red palm weevil, Asian palm weevil, or Sago palm weevil. The adult beetles are relatively large, ranging between 2 and 4 centimetres long, and vary from a rusty red colour to almost entirely black; many colour variants exist and have led to considerable confusion with other species. Weevil larvae of these species can excavate holes in the trunk of a palm tree up to 1 metre long, thereby weakening and eventually killing the host plant. As a result, these weevils are considered major pests in palm plantations, including the coconut palm, date palm and oil palm.
Rhynchophorus, or common name palm weevils, is a genus of beetles in the weevil family, Curculionidae. Palm weevils are major pests of various trees in the family Arecaceae throughout the tropics including: coconut, Areca catechu, species of the genus Phoenix, and Metroxylon sagu. Two species are invasive pests outside their native ranges, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus and Rhynchophorus palmarum.
The South American palm weevil, Rhynchophorus palmarum, is a species of snout beetle. The adults are relatively large black beetles of approximately one and a half inch in length, and the larvae may grow to two inches in length.
Canarina canariensis is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae, commonly known as the Canary Island bellflower, and known locally as bicácaro.
Digitalis canariensis is a member of the genus Digitalis.
Diocalandra frumenti, commonly known as the palm weevil borer, the lesser coconut weevil, or four-spotted coconut weevil, is a species of weevil in the family Curculionidae. It occurs in Africa, Southern Asia and Northern Australia, and is a pest of coconut and other palm trees.
The Canary Islands dry woodlands and forests is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in the Canary Islands. It encompasses the western group of the Canary Islands – La Palma, El Hierro, La Gomera, Tenerife, and Gran Canaria – in the Atlantic Ocean. These volcanic islands are an autonomous community of Spain, and lie southwest of the Spanish mainland and west of the North African coast.