PalmPilots may be native, but the trees aren’t
When I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area I didn’t give much thought to the palm trees that dotted the landscape here and there. Hey, it’s California. But when I was told that they were not native to the area, I started taking note of them. These symbols of California life have been imported into the landscape of the Bay Area. The California Fan Palm is the only palm tree native to western North America and its natural range is farther south. But some Californians like their palm trees and they brought them up north to retain that sunny lifestyle. Once I drove a visiting, wide-eyed 12 year old girl around as she pointed out palm trees while exclaiming “Look! I’m really in California!” I didn’t have the heart to tell her they weren’t actually native. So how do these palms get transplanted all over? Palm dealers, of course. Real estate developers, landscapers, hotel builders get their palms from Sea Crest Nursery, “California’s largest palm purveyor”. These dealers also keep an eye out for palms as they travel, watching for mature plants that could use relocation away from power lines or construction. It’s not surprising that the Bay Area’s population diversity extends to the flora. I could go on about the Eucalyptus too.