The Latin specific epithet filifera means "thread-bearing". See more

Washingtonia filifera grows to 18 m (59 ft) in height, and occasionally to as much as 25 m (82 ft) in ideal conditions. The California fan palm is also known as the desert fan palm, American cotton palm, and Arizona fa… See more

Washingtonia filifera is the only palm native to the Western United States and one of the country's largest native palms, exceeded in height only by the Cuban or Florida royal palm.
Primary po… See more

Desert fan palms provide habitat for the giant palm-boring beetle, western yellow bat, hooded oriole, and many other bird species. Hooded orioles rely on the trees for food and places to build nests. Numerous i… See more

The sweet fruit pulp of the fan palm is edible. The fruit was eaten raw, cooked, or ground into flour for cakes by Native Americans. The Cahuilla and related tribes used the leaves to make sandals, roof thatch, … See more

Joshua Tree National Park in the Mojave Desert preserves and protects healthy riparian palm habitat examples in the Little San Bernardino Mountains, and westward where water rises through the San Andreas Fault on th… See more

Washingtonia filifera is widely cultivated as an ornamental tree. It is one of the hardiest coryphoid palms, rated as hardy to USDA hardiness zone 8. It can survive brief temperatures of −10 °C (14 °F) with minor damage, a… See more