Species and Varieties
Livistona. Livistona Australis
This name honors Patrick Murray, baron of Livinstone, linked to the fundation of the botanical Garden of Edinburgh round 1670. The “livistona” lives on the humid solis of the australian hot zones. It has enormous palmed leaves wiht long plumes hanging on each of their segment tops. The trunk is thin, compared with other palm trees, with a grey-brown colour and remains of the pods that have been covering it. It blooms in groups of separated by sex flowers, ending on wide pinnacles of spherical blackish fruits. Itreaches heights from 18 to 25 m, depending of the soil and the climate. It grows in almost every area that doesnt become too dry in summer and apreciates it if its rich on nutritive substances. It exists another native specie from Far East called 'L . Chinensis', with similar morphology and habits.
Palmera Canaria. Phoenix Canariensis
The Canary palm is an original tree of the Canary Islands, and has been used traditionally like an ornamental tree in all aour geography. It possesses leaves “pinnadas” of up to seven meters provided of folíolos or segments sharp and coriáceos. These leaves form a dense wreath or almost spherical plume that gives them a majestic aspect. The canary palm measures from 16 to 18 m. It has masculine and femenine flowers. The femenine ones produce big clusters of orange fruits. This type of tree can resist cold.
Palma Excelsa. Trachycarpus Fortunei
Original palm of china, it relieves latin and Castilians names, but the most acepted is the one given here. The term 'fortunei' does honor to the botanical explorer Robert Fortune, acquaintance for being the introductor, between other many plants, of the tea infusions.
It has palmed leaves in which the cracks that separate the segments reach the half of their length and, in occasions, come up to the base of the same ones. It is a palm of proved resistance to the cold, so it can be cultivated in gardens from the inside of the Peninsula.
The young groups of flowers, some masculine and some femenine, are of vivacious yellow color, and give fruits of dark purplish tone.
It is adaptable to areas of diverse nature, included those of evident humid mien.
Palmito. Chamaerops Humilis
This small palm is a native of the basin of the Mediterranean, included the Spanish coasts. In a way it is similar to the ' lofty palm ', but with morphologic own details that make her unmistakable. Probably the most showy thing is her custom to vegetate forming several trunks, so its aspect is like of a bush of small palms. It has palmed leaves with long petioles (tails of the leaves) armed with powerful thorns in the wings.
The palmetto emits the flowers of one and another sex in different individuals. It is proper of dry, rocky or sandy soils. It can resist certain doses of cold and her growth is slow.
Washingtonia. Washintonia Filifera
Palm original fomr california, often cultivated in hot zones of our country. It takes the name of George Washington, the first North American president. It can get confused wiht another type of similar characteristics, ' W. Robust '. They are palms of palmed leaves of enormous size, with deep cracks between their segments and endowed with long filaments that hang of them and that, in case of the ones here described, inspire their specific name. W. Filifera ' has a thicker trunk, of up to 1 m of diameter, than ' W. Robust ', but in both remains the covering of dead leaves unless they are eliminated artificially. It has long paniculas of flowers of up to five meters of length (minors in W. Robust) that hang, in their epoch, of the top plume of leaves they have hermaphrodite flowers. Of very ornamental character, they are recommended specially to form alignments.
Washingtonia. Washintonia Robust
Hermaphrodite palm of narrow trunk of approximately 25 cm. of diameter and a height of up to 25 m., with remains of the bases of the old leaves(sheets) or if these have fallen(fallen due), lightly rugose, of brown and grey colour. It has palmed leaves of 1 m. of diameter, divided up to its half in sharp-pointed segments, with the forked apex. Petiole of 1 m. of length with re-curled teeth in the margins. Inflorescences of 2-3 m. of length, born between the base of the leaves,hangers, with flowers of cream colour. Ovoid, blackish fruit, of 0.8 mm. of diameter.