When you think of the landscape of Phoenix, you might think first of cactuses, mountains and probably palm trees.
The spindly fronds are not native to the Sonoran desert, but they have become a signature part of our region’s flora — a symbol of the resort-town paradise the Valley has billed itself as for generations. But they aren’t native to the Sonoran Desert.
In fact, the very first palm tree in Phoenix goes back to 1879 and a man known as Alexander Lemon, one of the first attorneys in Maricopa County. He took a trip to the Sandwich Islands — aka Hawaii — and brought back some seeds for palm trees…