Washingtonia filifera

California fan palm

Family: Arecaceae · Type: shrub · Native

California fan palm is a native shrub found in southern desert regions including the Sonoran Desert, Kern River, Santa Ana River, and Death Valley National Park at elevations below 1,200 meters in moist places, seeps, springs, and streamsides. Flowering from February to June, this palm produces white flowers in large branching clusters up to 5 meters long. Growing with a massive trunk up to 20 meters tall and nearly 1 meter in diameter, it develops distinctive green leaf stalks with sharply toothed bases. Its massive leaves extend 1.5 to 3 meters long, featuring dramatic thread-like fibers hanging from the segment margins that create a distinctive, cascading appearance. In desert environments, these palms form remarkable groves that provide critical habitat and shade in otherwise harsh landscapes.

Habitat: Groves, moist places, seeps, springs, streamsides

Bloom period: Feb-Jun

Elevation: < 1200 m

Bioregions: DSon, introduced s SNF (Kern River), SCo (Santa Ana River), DMoj (Death Valley National Park), expected elsewhere

California counties: Riverside, San Diego, San Bernardino, Orange, Los Angeles, Imperial, Contra Costa, Santa Barbara, Tehama, Kern, Ventura, Butte, Sacramento, San Luis Obispo

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.