Palisade is a proprietary variety developed under the Select Botanicals Group and Yakima Chief umbrella, grown predominantly in Idaho rather than Washington's more dominant Yakima Valley — an unusual growing-region choice among the varieties on this site, most of which concentrate around Yakima. That Idaho terroir is sometimes cited as part of what gives Palisade its distinctive melon-and-apricot character, though as with any hop, growing region, harvest timing and processing all play a role together.
Palisade's 5.5-9.5% alpha acid range is enough for real bittering use, not just its aroma role, with melon, apricot and mild spice notes that stand apart from the citrus-and-pine vocabulary most American hops fall into — its stone-fruit-and-melon lean reads closer to some of the newer proprietary tropical hops than to the older Cascade-family varieties.
Palisade's published alpha range runs comparatively wide, so check the current lot's Certificate of Analysis before assuming the midpoint applies to the bag in hand — then run it through the IBU calculator. Amarillo is the closer substitute for a rounded, non-sharp fruit character, while Cascade offers a more citrus-forward alternative at a similar alpha range if melon and apricot specifically aren't available elsewhere. American pale ale and IPA both use Palisade, generally as a supporting variety rather than the sole hop, since its melon-apricot character reads best alongside a brighter citrus hop rather than carrying an entire recipe.