Editorial
Martin Gibbons, c/o The Palm Centre
Chamaerops No. 20, published online 23-07-2002
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Hint Of Winter
As I write this, in mid-December, we in London have
had a couple of weeks of cold weather which started with a snowfall
and is only now beginning to thaw. The lowest temperature we recorded
at the nursery was -3.5¾C on the night of the 9th/10th, despite
dire warnings of -7¾C on the radio. Although it always pays to be
prepared I always take those warnings with a pinch of salt, as we
say. They do like drama in weather forecasts and it seems that they
fear being caught out even more than the palm enthusiast. Anyway
-3¾C is not a problem for our hardy palms, even new introductions
such as Trithrinax acanthocoma and Trachycarpus martianus will take
it in their stride, and of course those members who have nothing
more exciting than Trachycarpus fortunei and Chamaerops humilis
and won't try anything even a little more exotic can sleep secure
in the knowledge that their palms will laugh at these temperatures.
Moi, I like to take risks; the triumphs (Parajubaea cocoides, Cupressus
cashmeriana, Phoenix canariensis, Cycas revoluta, etc.) are worth
the failures (Rhopalostylis sp., which perished at the first hint
of frost, and a few small so-called hardy ferns). All in all not
too bad, though of course we have a lot more weather to get through
before spring.
Expedition News
From one extreme to the other I am pleased to be
able to report the results of our October expedition this year.
We started off in the Sudan, where, in the desert, it was 45¾C!
We went in search of an extremely rare desert palm that has been
thought by many, experts included, to be extinct, or at least on
the edge of extinction. It is Medemia argun, related to the uniquely
branching Hyphaene (Doum) palms and the glorious Bismarckia nobilis
of Madagascar. We did our homework and research as usual and, armed
with this information, flew to Khartoum where we rented a jeep and
set off into the Nubian Desert. With the help and guidance of an
old camel drover we met along the way we found our palms after a
two day drive through the trackless wastes. There were about a dozen
trees, some heavy with great numbers of plum sized fruits. There
were also a good number of seedlings showing that Medemia argun
has a definite, if tenuous, hold on survival. It was just wonderful
in the desert, cloudless blue skies, jaw-droppingly beautiful scenery,
no pollution, and the rediscovery of these fabulous palms. Exciting
stuff indeed! Leaving Sudan, we then went to India, to the foothills
of the Himalayas, and more or less worked our way along from west
to east. As all readers of Chamaerops will know by now, this band
of hilly, often mountainous country is the home of several species
of Trachycarpus. Although we had visited the various locations before
(see this issue for example) we needed to 'dot a few i's and cross
a few t's', and during the trip we saw T. takil, T. martianus, and
the gorgeous, new, T. 'sikkimensis'. What a great time we had.
Happy Anniversary
Issue number 20, I guess that's some special kind
of anniversary. Five years, 20 magazines, 200-odd articles, scores
of pictures, hundreds of members, three successful meetings, and
another 'local' meeting planned for next spring (see panel). As
yet no hard news of our Summer Meeting provisionally scheduled for
Rome, for September. But pencil it in anyway and do plan to come.
Now it's time for my all-too-regular, much regretted, and generally
rather boring appeal for articles. If you are wondering why the
magazine is always late, one of the reasons is that I have to wait
all the time for enough articles to complete the issue. Please,
try and make some kind of contribution. This is YOUR magazine (no
paid staff or advertising) and it is up to everybody to do their
bit. It's incredible, some people are members for three or four
years and haven't even sent in so much as a letter!
E-mail And The Internet
The Palm Centre has recently gone 'on-line', surfing
the net and cruising the web and all that jargon. For anyone out
there similarly connected, the E-mail address for The Palm Centre
and, of course, the European Palm Society, is 101340.2215@compuserve.com.
Articles, letters and just general communication much welcomed on
that number. Next thing is to get our own Web site... MG.
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