of beetles can kill various genera and species of palms. W. filifera appears to be resistant to the red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) by a mechanism of antibiosis – production of compounds lethal to the larvae. Currently, the desert fan palm is experiencing a population and range expansion, perhaps due to global warming or mustang control. Uses The sweet fruit pulp of the fan palm is edible. The fruit was eaten raw, cooked, or ground into flour for cakes by Native Americans. The Cahuilla and related tribes used the leaves to make sandals, roof thatch, and baskets. The woody petioles were used to make cooking utensils. The Moapa band of Paiutes and other Southern Paiute people have written memories of using this palm's seed, fruit, or leaves for various purposes, including as famine food. The bud (known as heart of palm) has also been eaten. Access Joshua Tree National Park in the Mojave Desert preserves and protects healthy riparian palm habitat examples in the Little San Bernardino Mountains, and westward where water rises through the San Andreas Fault on the east valley side. In the central Coachella Valley, the Indio Hills Palms State Reserve and nearby Coachella Valley Preserve, other large oases are protected and accessible. The Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park both have large and diverse W. filifera canyon oasis habitats. Cultivation Washingtonia filifera is widely cultivated as an ornamental tree. It is one of the hardiest coryphoid palms, rated as hardy to USDA hardiness zone 8. It can survive brief temperatures of with minor damage, and established plants have survived, with severe leaf damage, brief periods as low as . The plants grow best in Mediterranean climates, but can be found in humid subtropical climates such as eastern Australia and the southeastern USA. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Gallery See also Washingtonia robusta Mexican fan palm Washingtonia × filibusta hybrid References External links Floridata.com: Washingtonia filifera Interactive Distribution Map for Washingtonia filifera USDA Plants Profile: Washingtonia filifera (California fan palm) UC Jepson Manual treatment – Washingtonia filifera Calflora Database: Washingtonia filifera (California fan palm) Washingtonia filifera in Flora of North America Washingtonia filifera (California fan palm) – U.C. CalPhotos Gallery filifera Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Coachella Valley Flora of Riverside County, California Flora of the Sonoran Deserts Natural history