Washingtonia filifera

Washingtonia filifera, Palm Canyon, California

Taxonavigation

Taxonavigation: Arecales
Classification System: APG IV Superregnum: Eukaryota Cladus: Diaphoretickes Cladus: CAM Cladus: Archaeplastida Regnum: Plantae Cladus: Angiosperms Cladus: Monocots Cladus: Commelinids Ordo: Arecales

Familia: Arecaceae
Subfamilia: Coryphoideae
Tribus: Trachycarpeae
Subtribus: Unplaced Trachycarpeae
Genus: Washingtonia
Species: Washingtonia filifera
Varietates: W. f. var. filifera – W. f. var. robusta – W. f. var. sonorae

Name

Washingtonia filifera (Linden ex André) H.Wendl., 1879

Synonyms

• Basionym
  • Pritchardia filifera Rafarin, Rev. Hort. (Paris) 46: 76 (1874).
• Homotypic
  • Brahea filifera (Rafarin) W.Watson, Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1889: 296 (1889).
  • Neowashingtonia filifera (Rafarin) Sudw., Forest Trees Pacific Slope: 199 (1908).
  • Washingtonia filifera var. typica M.E.Jones, Contr. W. Bot. 15: 53 (1929), nom. inval.
    

Note: The segregation of Washingtonia robusta H.Wendl.; Gart.-Zeitung (Berlin) 2: 198 (1883) at the species level is not accepted by Villanueva-Almanza et al. (2021) and POWO (2026) but see Hassler (2026).

Distribution

Native distribution areas:
Continental: Northern America Regional: Southern USA Arizona (west); California (southeast) Regional: Mexico Mexico Northwest (Baja California; Baja California Sur; Sonora) References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition

References

• Wendland, H., 1879. Botanische Zeitung. Berlin 37: LXI.

Additional references

• Villanueva-Almanza, L., Landis, J.Koenig, D., Ezcurra, E.. 2021. Genetic and morphological differentiation in Washingtonia (Arecaceae): solving a century-old palm mystery. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 196(4): 506-523. DOI: 10.1093/botlinnean/boab009 Reference page. 

Links

• Govaerts, R. et al. 2026. Washingtonia filifera in Kew Science Plants of the World Online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2026 Jan 7. Reference page. 
• Hassler, M. 2018. World Plants. Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. . Washingtonia filifera. Accessed: 26 Dec. 2018. Reference page. 
• International Plant Names Index. 2018. Washingtonia filifera. Published online. Accessed: Dec. 26 2018. Reference page.
• Tropicos.org 2018. Washingtonia filifera. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 26 Dec. 2018. Reference page.
• USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Jan in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 2026. Reference page. 

Vernacular names

• العربية: واشنطونيا خيطية
• azərbaycanca: Lifli vaşinqtoniya
• čeština: Washingtonie vláknitá
• Deutsch: Kalifornische Washingtonpalme
• English: California Fan Palm, Mexican Fan Palm, Skyduster Palm
• español: Washingtonia de California
• eesti: Kiuline vašingtooniapalm
• فارسی: نخل بادبزنی کالیفرنیا
• suomi: Presidentinpalmu
• français: Palmier de Californie
• galego: Palmeira de California
• hrvatski: Kalifornijska lepezasta palma
• hornjoserbsce: Nićata washingtonowa palma
• magyar: Kaliforniai Washington-pálma
• italiano: Palma californiana
• polski: Waszyngtonia nitkowata
• português: Palmeira-de-saia
• русский: Вашингтония нитеносная
• slovenčina: Palmovka papraďovitá
• svenska: Prästpalm
• 粵語: 老人葵
• 中文: 丝葵

For more multimedia, look at Washingtonia filifera on Wikimedia Commons.