Washingtonia robusta, Mexican Fan Palm, Sonoran Fan Palm,
Southern Washingtonia, Washington Palm,
Hebrew: ושינגטוניה חסונה, Arabic: الواشنطونيا
Scientific name:  Washingtonia robusta H.Wendl.
Common name:   Washington Palm, Mexican Washingtonia, Southern Washingtonia
Hebrew name:  ושינגטוניה חסונה
Arabic name:  الواشنطونيا
Plant Family:  Palmae, דקליים

Trees of Israel, Native plants, Palestine

Life form:  Tree, evergreen
Spinescence:  Leaves
Stems:  Fibrous-rooted, one-stemmed, cylindric, unbranched, erect
Leaves:  Crown of green leaves on upper 2 m of axis, alternate, fan-shaped, spinescent, with a skirt of pendent and persistent dead leaves
Flowers:  Arching clusters of bisexual, tubular, bell-shaped, 3-lobed, white flowers
Fruits / pods:  Berry, dark brown, 1-seeded
Flowering Period:  July, August
Habitat:  Disturbed habitats
Distribution:  Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Deserts and extreme deserts
Chorotype, טיפוס התפוצה:  American
Summer shedding:  Perennating

Washingtonia robusta, Washington Palm, ושינגטוניה חסונה, الواشنطونيا


Derivation of the botanical name:
Washingtonia , named after George Washington (1732-1799), the first president of the United States.
robusta, robust.
The Hebrew name:ושינגטוניה, Washingtonia, transliteration from Washingtonia.
  • The standard author abbreviation H.Wendl. is used to indicate Hermann Wendland (1825 – 1903), a German botanist and gardener.
The first seeds of the Washingtonia robusta were brought, it would seem, by Aaron Aaronsohn (1876-1919), and were distributed from Aaron Aaronsohn’s agricultural experimental station in Atlit to Mikveh Israel, and then to other places in the Land of Israel. The long veteran avenue of Washingtonia palms east of Atlit, probably the first planted in Palestine in 1912.