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| Crooked Washingtonia Robusta palms. |
These are out in the farmlands of Indio.
I think they should be transplanted into a spot off Palm Canyon in downtown Palm Springs. The tourists would love it.
It's the same kind of curve you'd see in a coconut palm in Miami. Something like this should replace the Marilyn statue when its time is up.
These types of palm trees are called Washingtonia Robustas or Mexican Fan Palms.
As nice looking as they are, touching the base of the tree frond will result in a puncture wound. The razor blade sharpness of the thorns can penetrate deep into the skin.
This time of year the trees bloom. Gardeners are busy climbing up them to trim off the fruit and bottom fronds.
If you look around the trees look now look as if they've been given a crew cut. When left to grow on their own without human intervention, the skirts of the trees are thick with dead fronds. This is what you see hugging the trunk under the green fronds.
The tiny edible fruits are good snacks for bird and rats. Humans can eat them too, but the amount of fruit wrapping each seed is minimal.