Trunk solitary, to 12 m tall, stout, grey. Leaves stiff, blue-green, in a large rounded crown, the old leaves hanging as a brown skirt. Leaflets narrow, stiffly spreading. Leaf stalks with curved, sometimes pronged, spines along the margins. Panicles arching well clear of the leaves, bearing masses of creamy flowers. Fruit about 2 cm long, ovoid, brown flecked with white. [Erythea armata S.Watson]
Mexico, Baja California
Grows naturally in rocky canyons. Moderately popular but deserves to be more widely grown. Tolerates neglect.
Trunk stout, grey; leaves bluish-green, stiff, in a large round crown; flower clusters long, arching panicles hanging well clear of the leaves, with masses of creamy flowers.
NSW: Sydney (Royal Botanic Garden Sydney). Vic: Melbourne (Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria (Melbourne Gardens)).
B. aculeata (Brandegee) H.E. Moore, Sinaloa Hesper Palm from Mexico has a solitary trunk to 5 m tall, often covered with persistent leaf bases. Leaves in a sparse open crown. Leaf stalks very slender, with well spaced spines. Leaf blades yellowish-green. Leaflets narrow, stiff. Panicles slender, erect, held above the leaves. Fruit about 2 cm wide, round, brown to black. Occurs naturally in open rocky areas. Uncommonly grown. Recognised by the squat trunk usually covered with persistent leaf bases; yellowish-green fan-shaped leaves in a sparse crown, held on slender petioles; panicles erect above the leaves. There is a specimen at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney.
Source: (2005). Arecaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 5. Flowering plants. Monocotyledons. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.
