California’s Palm Tree, an Eternal Leafy Icon

While some say palm trees aren’t well adapted to Southern California, one expert says that’s not true.

Canary Island palms tower above Melrose Avenue at night after the sunset on the popular 20th Century symbols of southern California, in Los Angeles on October 18, 2006. David McNew/Getty Images

Palm trees have long been an icon of California and associated with Hollywood and movies. But most people aren’t aware of their origin and how they are maintained.

One palm expert, Donald R. Hodel, told The Epoch Times how California adopted palm trees as an iconic landscape. He is an emeritus environmental and landscape horticulture adviser for the University of California Cooperative Extension in Los Angeles County and specialized in researching palms, trees, and landscape management for more than 35 years.