Normally quite short palm tree with a branched trunk. The leaves are palm-shaped and rounded and it is distinguished from the windmill palm by its greyish blue-green colour and the long stalks covered in very evident points. In the autumn, the inflorescences become very fibrous rounded dates that smell a lot. They can be found in the brushwood and scrub of the Mediterranean coastline together with steppe shrubs, heather, gorse and rosemary, among other species.

It is the only native palm tree in the Mediterranean area (and Europe), which means that it is fairly well protected: in Catalonia, you cannot take one or pick any of its parts without prior authorisation. Although its fruit has no culinary interest, its apical gemma is a succulent food that gardeners know very well.