Phoenix canariensis

Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis)

The Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis ) is a plant of the genus date palms ( Phoenix) from the palm family ( Arecaceae ).

Description

The Canary Island date palm reaches stature heights 8-18 m, occasionally up to about 20 meters and a trunk diameter from 90 to 140 cm. The straight, thick trunk is covered with diamond-shaped scars that occur at the falling of the leaves. In contrast to the rights of the date palm trunk is always unbranched. It forms a lush crown. The leaves are 5-6 feet long, crooked, fresh green fronds, with individual leaflets are 40 to 50 cm long.

The Canary Island date palm is dioecious getrenntgeschlechtig ( dioecious ). The male flowers are yellowish - white and are grouped in dense, drooping inflorescences. The yellow, female flowers are arranged in inflorescences aged men. The flowering period extends from February to June.

The dark brown little fleshy berry fruits have a length of 1.5 to 2.5 cm and a diameter of about 1.2 cm. The fruits are edible, in principle, be used but only as Futterdatteln for pigs and goats.

Occurrence

The Canary Island date palm is endemic to the Canary Islands and introduced in Madeira, the Azores and the Cape Verde Islands. She is also often planted as park and street tree in the Mediterranean.

Use

In the Canary Islands, especially on La Gomera, the Canary Island palm richest, is obtained from the palm since the 16th century palm honey. To this end, a notch is scribed in the shoot apex, from which the juice runs out overnight. Three to six months are the palm so daily 8 to 14 liters of juice. Then they should not continue to tap into for a few years, so that the palm can recover. 1999, the date palm was appointed by law the landmark of the island of Gomera, and since then has been under strict protection.

Floristry

Phoenix canariensis is a rapidly growing, highly robust and adaptable palm, whose care is associated with comparatively little effort. This also larger plants are very inexpensive to purchase. Canary date palms are therefore the world's most common species of palm that is planted in public gardens and squares. Due to the relatively low frost resistance (about -5 ° C to -10 ° C) are larger specimens not offered in temperate climates as a commodity, whereby the acquisition of a plant of this kind in Central Europe is associated with a relatively high cost. Here the supply is concentrated on the Chinese windmill palm much more resistant to frost. In micro- climatically favored locations but the Alps are also north to find some copies of the Canary date palm in open field cultivation. Smaller specimens are often used as a container plant.

Swell

• Description in the Flora of Pakistan. (English )