Phoenix canariensis dense crown of arching green fronds with orange branching fruit stalks and small green fruits

Phoenix canariensis (Canary Island Date Palm)

A large, solitary palm endemic to the Canary Islands off northwestern Africa, it belongs to the Arecaceae family. It can reach about seventy feet tall. The trunk bears diamond-shaped scars left by old leaves beneath a crown of arching, featherlike fronds. The lower leaflets are modified into spines. Small, cream to yellow-white flowers grow in branched clusters, with female clusters becoming pendulous as fruits develop. Its oval drupes ripen from yellow-green to yellow-orange and contain a single seed. It is invasive in New Zealand, where seedlings can form dense growth that displaces native vegetation. Birds and water disperse its seeds. Photographed in Bogotá, Colombia.

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Phoenix canariensis palm with a rough trunk, arching green fronds, and fruit clusters beneath an overcast sky

Phoenix canariensis hanging green fruit clusters on orange stalks among stiff green fronds

Phoenix canariensis palm with orange fruit stalks and a trunk covered in green epiphytes

Phoenix canariensis green fruits on orange branching stalks between leaf bases against blue sky

Phoenix canariensis hanging clusters of green fruits on orange stalks beside a rough trunk

Phoenix canariensis crown with green fruit clusters and orange branching stalks

Phoenix canariensis palm crown with green fruit clusters, orange stalks, and a rough trunk

Phoenix canariensis dense green fruit clusters on bright orange branching stalks in dappled sunlight

Phoenix canariensis orange branching fruit stalks and small green fruits among its fronds