Washingtonia is a genus of palms, native to the southwestern United States and northwest Mexico. Both Washingtonia species are commonly cultivated across the United States, the Middle East, southern Europe, and North Africa, where they have greatly hybridized. They are fan palms of the Corypheae tribe. The flowers are in a dense inflorescence, with the fruits maturing into a small blackish-brown drupe 6 to 10 mm diameter with a thin layer of sweet flesh over the single seed. The fruit is edible, and was used by Native American people as a minor food source. They are also eaten by birds, which disperse the seeds in their droppings after digesting the fruit pulp. Native to the desert regions of Mexico, Washingtonia robusta are fast growing palms and one of the easiest palms to grow from seed. Its crown of large bright green, fan-shaped evergreen fronds provide a very tropical appearance to the landscape. Also makes a nice conservatory plant inside when grown in a full sun location. This palm is also very hardy and can withstand several degrees below freezing without appreciable damage. This palm takes drought and poor soil but does grow faster when provided better growing conditions. Cold hardy to -9°C, they are fast growing trees and can eventually grow 25 to 30 meters but can be maintained much smaller when container grown.