Palm Tree of Florida: 8 native palm Trees to Florida
With its fan-shaped leaves, the Palm Tree of Florida symbolizes this state’s coastal beauty. Because of its welcoming climate for the growth of palm trees, Florida has remained one of the top places for having a wide variety of palm trees.
With this much variety of these trees, you may ask yourself if this tree is native to Florida. And what are well-known tree species located in Florida? Once you face the same questions while traveling to Florida and looking for answers, you can join us in this article to figure out.
How do you distinguish palm tree types?
The main variety of different palm trees is back to their height. Palm trees below 20 feet (6 m) in size fall into small palm trees. While trees taller than 20 feet (6 m), which are large, belong to large palm trees. Small palm trees are suitable for planting in your backyard to add a touch of beauty to your landscape.
Why is Florida the best place for Palm tree growth?
Florida is located in the Southeastern of the United States. It has a warm climate that makes it a suitable place for palm trees, whether native to Florida or not. They can thrive well in Florida’s climate. While experts acknowledge approximately 12 types of palm trees, other species of palm trees are mainly transported from South America and Southeast Asia. Let’s find out what are Florida’s native palm trees in the next section.
What are Florida’s native palm trees?
Here are the types of these trees growing in Florida:
The cabbage palm tree of Florida (Sabal palmetto)
This tree, with several names, including swamp cabbage, common palmetto, cabbage palmetto, and blue palmetto, is the United States official tree found in other places such as Cuba and the Bahamas. This species reaches 65 feet (19.8 m) as it matures and is resistant to salt, drought, and frost. They are solely affected by disease and are adaptable plants, and it does not matter if they are in the dark, flooded swamps of the sun-scorched prairie. They bloom 3 to 8 ft. long flowers, creamy to white in color, fragrant, and their fruits are edible in round and black shape.
Canary Island date (Phoenix canariensis); Florida’s palm tree
Like the pineapple tree, the Canary palm grows up to 65 ft. (20 m) in length, living for 60 years. It is a slowly growing tree that originated from the Canary Islands. After producing white and gray flowers, which add ornamental beauty to any place, summer trees grow yellow to orange edible fruits that are 2 cm long.
Mexican palm tree (Washingtonia robusta)
As is evident from its name, this tree is native to northwestern Mexico but can grow in Florida. Since they can adapt to a cold, salty environment, they can also grow in coastal areas. They bloom small white flowers with yellow stems and produce round fruits that are edible but not delicious enough to taste. Remember that this plant is susceptible to wind damage because of its narrow trunk.
Paurotis palm (Acoelorrhaphe wrightii)
Paurotis palm, Madeira, or Everglades palm, grows in Florida and is native to Mexico and Central America. The plant can grow up to a length of 23-30 ft. It is ideally suited for planting in a garden rather than being confined to a container. Its flowers are light green or white, appearing in a cluster; its fruits are red-orange and turn black as they ripen.
Pindo palm (Butia capitata) growth in Florida
Pindo palm is native to Brazil and can be seen in Florida, growing up to 25 ft. in height. They are not sensitive to cold weather, producing flowers in various colors such as white, yellow, or orange. You can use the round, orange fruits, which are edible, to make jelly. It would be best if you were patient with the growth of Pindo species as they grow slowly.
Bottle palm tree (Hyophorbe lagenicaulis)
The bottle palm originated in Mauritius and grows in Florida and Hawaii. Most of them reach 10 ft, sorted in a small tree group; however, in rare cases, they can grow up to 15-20 ft. in length. You can plant small ones in a container once you want to move them when the weather gets cold. Their flowers are green to black with 1.5 inches in diameter, producing blackberries.
Windmill palm tree (Trachycarpus fortunei)
Windmill palm or Chusan palm is a tolerant species originating from Japan, China, India, and Myanmar. This plant is one of the tall species that reach 20-60 ft. in height, producing small, yellow fruits that are kidney-like and turn blue-black when they become ripe.
Coconut palm (Cocos nucifera): the giant palm tree in Florida
The name “coconut” originates from the Portuguese word ‘coco,’ which means “skull,” referring to the concavity in the fruit’s shell. One of the most giant trees is the coconut palm, over 80 ft. tall. They are popular because of their delicious coconut fruits, produced following spring blooming.
Wrapping up of Palm Tree of Florida
With its warm climate, Florida is home to many tree species of small and large size. Most trees require low maintenance and can be grown in the landscape to add ornamental beauty to the city. Because of your limited space and weather, you must choose a small type to plant palm trees in a container.
We hope the information has helped you decide which tree best suits your location. We would love to hear about your favorite palm tree in Florida and why it stands out to you. Please share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.
