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,

A cross between two species of palms, Washingtonia filifera and Washingtonia robusta, the “filibusta” is thought by many in the landscape industry to be a superior hybrid. This hybrid carries many of the traits and characteristics of its “parents” mixed into a palm that is fairly fast growing. Filibustas tend to have a heavier trunk then the Robusta variety but not as gigantic as the Filifera. The fronds too are larger than is commonly found on the Robusta but again, not as large as the Filifera. Filibustas are cold hardy. Once established onsite, these palms will take freezes down into -10°+. During these extreme freeze events, the canopies will burn back but so long as the palms were otherwise healthy, they will grow back out during a single season. Filibustas are an excellent choice for streetscapes, rows and individual or staggered group accent plantings.