Phoenix roebellenii pygmy date palm

Pygmy date palms, California Avenue, Palo Alto. Sairus Patel, 22 Nov 2023

The smallest of commonly planted palms in horticulture, pygmy date palm, curiously, is nowhere to be seen on central campus. In the Stanford Research Park, five line the entryway to 901 California Avenue. Groups are arranged in front of 431–453 Stanford Avenue in Palo Alto, some 10 feet tall, the maximum height of the species.

Name derivation: Phoenix – See P. dactylifera entry; roebellenii – after the German orchid collector Carl Roebelen (1855–1927).