Ph. canariensis var. porphyrocarpa. A variety, or more accurately a form, that has been cited in the Mediterranean and even in California, but never on the Canary Islands. I suspect they may all be descendants of an ancient hybrid event, possibly even Pre-hispanic arrival on the islands, but until the source is correctly identified we will never know. That being said, they did do some genetic test a few years ago including about 30 porphyrocarpa from Portugal, Spain, and France and found no distinction between them and standard Ph. canariensis.
It is honestly amazing to see one so far in the Alps, since it is fruiting it would be nice to see a palm grove of its descendant form to see the diversity.
Interesting. It is very distinct from P. senegalensis which has bigger and bluer dates. I saw sth similar to the Lago Maggiore plant on La Gomera. Did not see anything nearby but canariensis is the only one i saw in the region
