This palm tree has been grown in my parents' yard for more than a decade (perhaps two). I'm not sure of its identification.
It has grown a lot (perhaps too much, for the surrounding space), and, though we tried to constantly prune the lower leaves with the hope to make it develop a trunk and make it go up, we have not been very successfull.
Any information and advice would be appreciated.
Update: to aid with identification: the yellow-brownish thing is a cluster of fruits (drupes), about 2 or 3 cm long. The lower leaves are hard, like spines (or daggers!). The description of the Phoenix palms fits quite well, I'm thinking.
Update 2 (Jan-2018) : Two years later. It looks healthy, but it keeps growing wider and still no trunk.