Brahea armata, Blue Hesper Palm - Mexican Blue Fan Palm
Habit and Cultural Information
Category : Palm
Family : Arecaceae
Origin : Mexico (North America)
Flower Color : Blue
Bloomtime : Summer
Silver/Gray Foliage : Yes
Tolerates Drought : Yes
Height : 12-20 feet
Width : 4-6 feet
Exposure : Full Sun
Irrigation Req. : Low Water Needs
Distinctive, unique and attractive, the blue hesper palm has a crown of rigid leaves which radiate from the trunk top. Blue hesper palms are considered by many to have the bluest leaves of any palm in the world. The leaves of a hesper palm may also be pastel bluish white or aquamarine in color. Blue hesper palm may grow 50 ft (15.2 m) tall and 16 ft (4.9 m) in width. The blue hesper palm trunk is slightly swollen at the base and grows up to 1.5 ft (0.5 m) in diameter. It usually has persistent scars from the bases of petioles (leaf stems) that have since dropped off or been removed. Blue hesper palm may have up to 30 palmate, or fan shaped, circular leaves. If old leaves are not removed, they form a continuous brown skirt, reaching from the top of the trunk all the way to the ground. On the top side of the base of the leaves, where they join the stem, there is a thin "flap." The petiole of the blue hesper palm is armed along the margins with curved thorns, many of which branch into two points. Blue hesper palm produces multiple branching inflorescences up to 3 ft (0.9 m) long, which project out and often downward from the leaf crown. The flower cluster consists of many small whitish bisexual blossoms and is considered by many to be among the most beautiful of palm flowers. The shiny fruit of the blue hesper palm is round and brownish black, about 3/4 in (1.9 cm) in diameter, and contains a single seed.