Palm trees. They whisper tales of Hollywood dreams and the easygoing California lifestyle. Let’s step inside the story of L.A.’s iconic palm trees, right here at the Palm Tree Inn.
Los Angeles wouldn’t be Los Angeles without its palm trees. They stand tall along the boulevards and frame the city skyline. You’ll spot them in movies, music videos, and even on In-N-Out cups.
But here’s a secret. Almost all of these famous Angelenos of the plant world came from somewhere else. Spanish missionaries first brought palm trees to the area in the 18th century. They were prized for their exotic look. Wealthy Angelenos later used them as decorative plants around the turn of the century.
The real palm craze began in the 1930s. Workers planted around 25,000 of them as part of an unemployment relief program before the Olympic Games.
Evan Meyer of the Theodore Payne Foundation explains the intersection of the human and ecological worlds here in Los Angeles. He notes the astounding capacity of these palms to survive in unexpected places. Lorena Villanueva-Almanza adds that they sprout on sidewalks.
Today, experts debate whether these non-native palms are good for L.A.’s environment. They soak up water. They provide little shade. They are also known to catch fire.
But L.A.’s palm trees aren’t leaving any time soon. So, let’s learn a bit more about them. The Mexican Fan Palm is also known as skyduster. It can grow up to 100 feet tall. It produces up to 50 fan-shaped leaves per year. These leaves hang in a skirtlike formation.
The California Fan Palm is similar but slightly shorter. It is the only palm native to Southern California. Indigenous people once used these palm oases as village sites. They provided fruits, fibers, and house-making materials.
Finally, there’s the Canary Island date palm. You can spot them in Beverly Hills and Hancock Park. This palm is nicknamed pineapple palm. But it is the most susceptible to pests.
Sometimes I feel like Guy de Maupassant about L.A.’s palm trees. He famously hated the Eiffel Tower. The difference is that there is almost nowhere that you won’t see a palm tree. It’s not the tree’s fault it’s overexposed.
The palm tree image makes visual geolocation instant and easy. Like the shape of a lightbulb, it’s universally known. Put a palm tree on it; it must be L.A.
The oldest surviving palm in L.A. likely stands in Exposition Park. It may be 200 years old.
In the fires, palms went up like matchsticks. The dried fronds caught fire and drifted on the winds. Age also imperils them. Many planted over a hundred years ago are reaching their lifespan limits.
In certain parts of town, the palms are being protected for their iconic heft. And there will still be enough to get us through years of selfies for the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics.
Palm trees are like Angelenos. They can go on forever, in one manner or another. Bring on CGI palm trees, palm trees light-projected onto freeway walls, stenciled onto the sides of buildings.
So next time you see a palm tree, remember its journey. Remember its role in shaping the identity of Los Angeles. The Palm Tree Inn offers more than just a place to rest. It provides a unique vantage point to appreciate these towering symbols of the city.