The core of our collection comes from the estate of Dr. A.J. Vance, who began collecting exotic palms in the late 1940s at his canyon estate located off Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. The collection was recognized for both its size and diversity of plantings.

After Dr. Vance’s death in the early 1980s, South Coast Plaza acquired the collection and transplanted it in 1986 to its present location on Bear Street. With the help of palm aficionado Ralph Velez and the International Palm Society, South Coast Plaza continues to add unique specimens to its collection with varieties from all over the world. Particularly noteworthy are the large Cuban Royal Palms (Roystonea regia), a large cluster of Slender Lady Palms (Rhapis humilis) from Southern China and the Hawaiian Loulu Palm (Pritchardia hillebrandii).

All palms are labeled with their common name and botanical name and most have their country of origin.