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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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