A PECULIAR USE OF DATE PALM (PHOENIX DACTYLIFERA) LEAVES IN ELCHE, SPAIN: “LA PALMA BLANCA”

In Elche (Spain), a particular use of date palms has been for centuries the production of white palm leaves, las palmas blancas. They are obtained by mean of an original technique that has not changed much over the years, apart from a little improvement ten years ago.
The purpose of this production is religious: the white palm leaves are used for the Palm Sunday, first Sunday of the Holy Week.

Nowadays, this production represents one of the rare direct economic benefits of the date palms of Elche.
We describe the process to obtain the white palm leaves and the present problems of this activity.

II International Symposium on Ornamental Palms & other Monocots from the Tropics

S. Gómez Vives, M. Ferry

Phoenicococcus marlatti, white palm leaves, Palm Sunday, pests, production costs

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1999.486.42