Palm Trees With Plumes

Multiple-Trunk Palms

• Some species of date palms grow multiple trunks. Upon maturity, their feathery plumes create impressive sprays of greenery. Multitrunk date palms thrive in full sun or partial shade -- remember, this tree is versatile or it wouldn't have survived so long. Multitrunk date palms don't grow as tall as other species, reaching around 35 feet with 20-foot frond spreads that can be so thick, even when they flower, you may not see the profusion of blossoms covering the tree. Typical of the multitrunk date palm is the Senegal date palm.

Florida-Friendly Palms

• If you've visited both California and Florida and paid close attention to the palm trees covering both states, you know that the palm trees on both coasts are distinctly different. Florida weather is hotter and more humid as a rule; date palms that do best in this climate require very little water to thrive. Horticulturists undertaking landscaping projects from Jacksonville to Miami are enthusiastic about date palms of the Phoenix genus, identified by their bumpy trunks and flirty plumes of curing fronds. The Florida Nursery Growers and Landscapers Association named the India wild date palm, typical of the Phoenix family, "2006 Plant of the Year."

Desert-Friendly Palms

• When developers first set foot on the arid wasteland that was to become Las Vegas, the topography was covered with vegetation that resembled a lunar landscape, but splashy hotels, casinos and nightclubs required lush greenery to balance off the lights and glitter. Taking a page from arid countries known for their palm trees, landscapers chose palm trees with plumes that flourished with very little water. Choices were limited to the Phoenix genus -- a breed of single-trunk date palms growing to heights of around 70 feet. These varieties look like little pineapples sprouting fans of plumes when they're young, but they're quite impressive at maturity. A typical member of this family of date palm is the Canary Island date palm.

Majestic Palms

• You see them in California and other glamorous hot spots around the globe: palm trees with plumes belonging to the true date palm family. Known for being both ornamental and a food source, they grow to 100 feet, sprouting proportionately sized plumes. Typically, true date fronds can grow to 40 feet, casting an enormous shadow on the ground below. Despite the height of this genus, trunk circumference averages just 18 inches -- the likely result of evolutionary adaptation, though it could be an homage to California's health-conscious society.