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pygmy date palm Arecaceae Phoenix roebelenii O'Brien Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: PHRO6
Leaf: Alternate, pinnately compound, up to 4 feet long; individual leaflets lance-shaped, 1 foot long, lower half of petiole covered with 2-3 inch sharp spines, shiny dark green above, feathery.
Flower: Species is dioecious; both males and females occur on dense, hanging many-branched 1 foot clusters, creamy yellow-white, opening from a husk-like structure, appearing periodically throughout the year.
Fruit: Fleshy drupe, elliptical, 1/2 inch long, red-brown to dark purple, date-like, occurs in up to 18 inch hanging clusters, may be produced in quantity.
Bark: Light grayish brown, rough and irregular, with leaves or leaf bases persisting, may form adventitious roots near the base.
Form: A small, single-stemmed palm (often cultured to be clumping) to 10 feet tall, trunks usually sweeping, dense feathery top.
 Looks like: Canary Island date palm - coconut palm - queen palm - royal palm

pygmy date palm leaf image
pygmy date palm flower image
pygmy date palm fruit image
pygmy date palm bark image
pygmy date palm form image
pygmy date palm map image

Additional Range Information: Phoenix roebelenii is planted in the USDA hardiness zones shown above and is not known to widely escape cultivaton. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDA Plants Database - Horticulture Information
All material 2025 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information