Family: Arecaceae
Pygmy date palm is a single-trunked or (rarely) multi-trunked small palm. An elegant specimen, gracefully arching feathery fronds, sits atop a slender trunk. As the common name suggests, this palm will not grow above 15 feet. It grows well in containers, and in some places, it is used in interior landscaping. NASA studied this plant, among others, to research the natural air-filtering indoor plants provide.
Water well until established, then water in times of drought. Some suggest the pygmy date palm is suitable for xeriscape gardening. Native southeast Asia, the Pigmy date palm was first ‘discovered’ and described in Laos. Seed germination takes three months.
Plant Uses:
- Container plant
- Indoor plant
- Ornamental
- Privacy / screening
Plant Dangers:
- No dangers
High Risk Traits:
- Produces spines (lower leaves)
- Shade tolerant
- Hybridizes naturally with other Phoenix species
- Intentionally spread by people (landscaping)
- Bird-dispersed seeds (fleshy fruit)
- Seeds survive gut passage
Low Risk Traits:
- Not naturalized or weedy
- Not toxic, allelopathic, or parasitic
- No fire hazard
- Does not form dense thickets
- Dioecious (requires cross-pollination)
- No vegetative reproduction
- Slow-growing (4+ years to maturity)
- No persistent seed bank (germinates in 2–4 months)
- Herbicide-susceptible
