The Desert Palm of California (Washingtonia filamentosa, O. Kuntze) is a striking feature of the Colorado desert and of canon sides in the neighbouring mountains. It is found in groves or in isolated clumps in wet alkali soil, where it rises to the height of 50 to 75 feet, a crown of spreading, fan-like leaves above a stout trunk clothed almost to the ground with a dense thatch of the dead leaves, which, bending back upon each other in succession, form a broad basal cone. The black berries are profusely borne on the branching spikes in September. They are dry and thin fleshed, but Indians use them for food. The Washington palm has come into extensive cultivation in California and southern Europe.
The Desert Palm of California (Washingtonia filamentosa, O. Kuntze) is a striking feature of the Colorado desert and of canon sides in the neighbouring mountains. It is found in groves or in isolated clumps in wet alkali soil, where it rises to the height of 50 to 75 feet, a crown of spreading, fan-like leaves above a stout trunk clothed almost to the ground with a dense thatch of the dead leaves, which, bending back upon each other in succession, form a broad basal cone. The black berries are profusely borne on the branching spikes in September. They are dry and thin fleshed, but Indians use them for food. The Washington palm has come into extensive cultivation in California and southern Europe.