Canary Islands Date Palm - introduced (*Phoenix canariensis)

Family: Palmaceae (Palm family).

Native of the Canary Islands.

Occurrence: Widely planted as a street tree and in church grounds. It is an occasional weed.

Identification:

• it is a stout palm tree.
• the leaves (the fronds) are 5-7m long, and divided into numerous narrow leaflets
• the leaflets form stout sharp spines near the base of the leaves.

Phoenix: it was introduced into Greece by the Phoenicians; canariensis: it is native to the Canary Islands.

Photos 1 - 3: Adult tree and two seedlings. Castlemaine.
4: Spiny leaflets at the base of a frond.