Phoenix reclinata

Common name

Senegal date palm, African date palm

Description

Stems: Clustering and leaning, to 10 m tall and 15-18 cm in diameter, leafleaf:
in palms -- the leaf blade (which is usually divided into leaflets or leaf segments), the petiole (or leaf stalk) and the sheath (which forms the attachment of the leaf to the stem)
scars are crowded rings. In younger palms, the stem is covered with leafleaf:
in palms -- the leaf blade (which is usually divided into leaflets or leaf segments), the petiole (or leaf stalk) and the sheath (which forms the attachment of the leaf to the stem)
bases and matted fibers. Leaves: Pinnatepinnate:
like a feather; palms with pinnate leaves usually have compound leaflets attached to a rachis, although a pinnate leaf may be entire with pinnate veins (e.g., <em>Chamaedorea metallica</em>)
, induplicateinduplicate:
Most palm leaflets or leaf segments are obviously folded. If the folds create a V-shape, with the midrib lower than the margins (so that rain might fall "into a valley"), the folding is induplicate.
, to 5 m long, with arching rachisrachis:
an extension of the petiole through the blade of a pinnate leaf to which leaflets are attached
which ends in a single leaflet; many narrow, glossy, dark green leaflets arranged in multiple planes for most of the length, but in a single plane near the tip; the lowermost leaflets (along the short petiole) are modified into sharp, thin spines; and no crown shaftcrown shaft:
a cylinder of clasping leaf sheaths toward the apex of the stem, found in some pinnate-leaved palms (e.g., <em>Wodyetia bifurcata</em>)
is formed from leafleaf:
in palms -- the leaf blade (which is usually divided into leaflets or leaf segments), the petiole (or leaf stalk) and the sheath (which forms the attachment of the leaf to the stem)
sheaths. Flowers and fruit: Inflorescences are orange-colored, to 1 m long, and branched to one order. Cream-colored staminatestaminate:
a flower bearing stamens but no pistils; a “male” flower
and pistillatepistillate:
a flower bearing a pistil but no stamens; a “female” flower
flowers are produced on different plants. Fruits are up to 1-2.5 cm long, ovoid and reddish-brown to scarlet when ripe.

Diagnostic features

Field: Clustering and leaning, to 10 m tall and 15-18 cm in diameter, leafleaf:
in palms -- the leaf blade (which is usually divided into leaflets or leaf segments), the petiole (or leaf stalk) and the sheath (which forms the attachment of the leaf to the stem)
scars are crowded rings. In younger palms, the stem is covered with leafleaf:
in palms -- the leaf blade (which is usually divided into leaflets or leaf segments), the petiole (or leaf stalk) and the sheath (which forms the attachment of the leaf to the stem)
bases and matted fibers. The leaves are pinnatepinnate:
like a feather; palms with pinnate leaves usually have compound leaflets attached to a rachis, although a pinnate leaf may be entire with pinnate veins (e.g., <em>Chamaedorea metallica</em>)
, induplicateinduplicate:
Most palm leaflets or leaf segments are obviously folded. If the folds create a V-shape, with the midrib lower than the margins (so that rain might fall "into a valley"), the folding is induplicate.
, to 5 m long, with arching rachisrachis:
an extension of the petiole through the blade of a pinnate leaf to which leaflets are attached
which ends in a single leaflet; leaflets are narrow, glossy, dark green, and are arranged in multiple planes.

May be confused with

Other Phoenix species, but the stem and leaflet arrangement are distinctive

Distribution

Native to tropical Africa, found along rivers and streams

Additional comments

Because Phoenix species can hybridize easily and produce fertile crosses, determining the species within this genus might not be possible.

The Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council lists this species as a Category II invasive: exotic plants that show signs of increasing in abundance, but that have not yet altered native plant communities. Click here for more details.

Scientific name

Phoenix reclinata Jacq.

Family

Arecaceae/Palmae

Synonyms

Phoenix abyssinica Drude

Phoenix leonensis Lodd. ex Kunth

Phoenix spinosa Schumach.