Canary Island Date Palm Dr Halaweh/Flickr

Canary Island Date Palm

Single trunk, palm tree grows up to 15 – 20 m high, 1 m in diameter.

Leaves

Spread leaves, 6 m long and 50 cm wide (when flattened), short thick and extremely sharp-pointed.

Flowers

A loose branching cluster of yellowish flowers. The flowers are 2 - 4 cm long with rounder outer segments.

Fruits/Seeds

Yellowish to red fruit that is 1.5 – 2.3 cm long. Fleshy layer that is rather thin.

Field Guide

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Species: WhatToObserve Image

What to Observe

  • First fully open single flower

  • Full flowering (record all days)

  • End of flowering (when 95% of the flowers have faded)

  • No flowering

Species: WhenAndWhere Image

When and Where

When To Look

  • Flowers during spring
  • Fruits ripen in autumn

Where To Look

  • Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, Australian Capital Territory and NSW
  • Naturalised amongst common plants in parks and roadside plantings, often invading neighbouring disturbed natural vegetation
Species: WhatElse Image

What Else?

Also known as the Date Palm, it is regarded as an environmental weed in Victoria and NSW.

It is becoming naturalised in many parts of south-eastern Australia, though it currently has a scattered distribution.