Brahea edulis

[Grasswing]

Hello everybody,

What do you know about the problem of wild Brahea edulis? I've just read that this species is about to disappear in future years from its home environment. The problem is that domestic animals like goats eat the seeds of this brahea. Only solution is to remove these animals from Guadalupe. Do you know any news? Thanks for replies, Andrew

[Tassie_Troy1971]

I have alot of these growing in pots from collecting seed in California 3 yrs ago !

Troy

[Alberto]

The problem is that goats eat all the seedlings....

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

The goats have been entirely removed from the island in 2005, so the palm will probably recover. This palm is the only true California Native palm when you consider California as the botanical district, which goes all the way down into Baja but does not include the Mojave desert where the Washingtonia grow. Washingtonia is native to the Southwest, but not to the California Botanical District. Brahea Edulis is the one palm best adapted to the coastal climates, fruiting even in the cool fog belts along the coast of Northern California where washingtonia won't fruit and won't even germinate.

This is the easiest and best palm for my local climate - requires no Summer water, doesn't require frost protection even for the worst freezes. It's one of the palms that is guaranteed to survive in our area if humans disappeared. And it makes edible fruits.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahea_edulis

Although endangered in the wild, B. edulis is cultivated, especially in California. In 2001, it was started to fence in patches of habitat on Guadalupe, and the long-envisioned removal of goats was effectively complete by 2005. Some hundreds of Guadalupe Palms remain on their island home today.^[2] As regrowth presumably was hindered by the goats eating the saplings rather than the trees having all become old and sterile, it is likely that the palm will eventually recover. That it was best able of all Guadalupe tree species to withstand the hordes of goats is evidenced by its present distribution; the other trees – if they survive at all – are limited to higher and less accessible areas. Nonetheless, the species is precariously rare and the IUCN considers it Endangered (EN C1).

[Grasswing]

The goats have been entirely removed from the island in 2005, so the palm will probably recover. This palm is the only true California Native palm when you consider California as the botanical district, which goes all the way down into Baja but does not include the Mojave desert where the Washingtonia grow. Washingtonia is native to the Southwest, but not to the California Botanical District. Brahea Edulis is the one palm best adapted to the coastal climates, fruiting even in the cool fog belts along the coast of Northern California where washingtonia won't fruit and won't even germinate.

This is the easiest and best palm for my local climate - requires no Summer water, doesn't require frost protection even for the worst freezes. It's one of the palms that is guaranteed to survive in our area if humans disappeared. And it makes edible fruits.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahea_edulis

Although endangered in the wild, B. edulis is cultivated, especially in California. In 2001, it was started to fence in patches of habitat on Guadalupe, and the long-envisioned removal of goats was effectively complete by 2005. Some hundreds of Guadalupe Palms remain on their island home today.^[2] As regrowth presumably was hindered by the goats eating the saplings rather than the trees having all become old and sterile, it is likely that the palm will eventually recover. That it was best able of all Guadalupe tree species to withstand the hordes of goats is evidenced by its present distribution; the other trees – if they survive at all – are limited to higher and less accessible areas. Nonetheless, the species is precariously rare and the IUCN considers it Endangered (EN C1).

Thank you for this information! That is what I wanted to know.

[Brad-Tampa]

The information provided above shows how great the PT forum can be. Thanks IPS (and Mods).

[Stevetoad]

The goats have been entirely removed from the island in 2005, so the palm will probably recover. This palm is the only true California Native palm when you consider California as the botanical district, which goes all the way down into Baja but does not include the Mojave desert where the Washingtonia grow. Washingtonia is native to the Southwest, but not to the California Botanical District. Brahea Edulis is the one palm best adapted to the coastal climates, fruiting even in the cool fog belts along the coast of Northern California where washingtonia won't fruit and won't even germinate.

This is the easiest and best palm for my local climate - requires no Summer water, doesn't require frost protection even for the worst freezes. It's one of the palms that is guaranteed to survive in our area if humans disappeared. And it makes edible fruits.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahea_edulis

Although endangered in the wild, B. edulis is cultivated, especially in California. In 2001, it was started to fence in patches of habitat on Guadalupe, and the long-envisioned removal of goats was effectively complete by 2005. Some hundreds of Guadalupe Palms remain on their island home today.^[2] As regrowth presumably was hindered by the goats eating the saplings rather than the trees having all become old and sterile, it is likely that the palm will eventually recover. That it was best able of all Guadalupe tree species to withstand the hordes of goats is evidenced by its present distribution; the other trees – if they survive at all – are limited to higher and less accessible areas. Nonetheless, the species is precariously rare and the IUCN considers it Endangered (EN C1).

The picture on wiki doesn't look like brahea. It has split leaf bases. Anyone know what it is?

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

If you can enlarge the photo enough there is a plant label underneath. I can't tell from the photo if it's edulis or not, this is not exactly the best looking specimen.

[Stevetoad]

If you can enlarge the photo enough there is a plant label underneath. I can't tell from the photo if it's edulis or not, this is not exactly the best looking specimen.

The leaf bases look off for brahea. they look more like sabal.

[QUINNPALMS]

I sure would like to know how the fruit is on these guys , anybody eat them?

[Grasswing]

I searched in Palmpedia for trunk detail and now I think that wikipedia is wrong: http://www.palmpedia.net/wiki/images/a/ae/Braedu0010.jpg The leaf bases look really different. And leaves have different structure. That wiki palm doesn't look healthy...

[JasonD]

If you can enlarge the photo enough there is a plant label underneath. I can't tell from the photo if it's edulis or not, this is not exactly the best looking specimen.

The leaf bases look off for brahea. they look more like sabal.

Yeah, I agree. It's no Brahea - with split leaf bases like that. I've even tried to work on the Wikipedia entry to correct it (tons of B. edulis pics I could use), but it's so complicated I gave up after an hour or so.

[JasonD]

The incipient restoration of Guadalupe Island is one of the most exciting developments in recent years. Here's a link to the Santa Cruz-based organization that specializes in island habitats and worked on Isla Guadalupe. The California Native Plant Society has tracked the island's recovery since the eradication of goats pretty closely in their journal (PDF), Fremontia (PDF). The more you read about the native flora on the island, the more convincingly "Californian" (in the sense of a coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) or Monterey pine (Pinus radiata)) the palm appears, as Axel notes. Besides all the aesthetic advantages it offers over a Washingtonia in a small Bay Area garden, I often talk about it as the "true" native California palm when consulting with customers about which species to consider buying. I'm not sure there's another palm more narrowly adapted to a Mediterranean climate besides it and (maybe) Jubaea. Chamaerops and Phoenix canariensis and P. theophrastii all do fine in hot, humid, rainy summers.

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

Jason, this palm is way, way more beautiful than any Washingtonia ever will be up here. It's deep green, has an incredible number of fronds and simply looks stunning! They have a much more tropical growth pattern than Washingtonias.

This is "our" palm for coastal California, it belongs here.