No, not the journal, surprisingly, but the wonderful,
variable, adaptable palm. by Chris Miller, 30 Princethorpe Road, London
SE26 Chamaerops No.20, published online 23-07-2002
On my recent visit to Barcelona, I decided to pay
closer attention than normal to Chamaerops humilis - the Mediterranean
(or European) Fan palm - both in municipal settings and also growing
wild on the mountainside, and I came away infatuated with these
palms. I was already familiar with some of the specimens which grow
in Barcelona and on the coast, but I had not really observed them
in the wild. With the help of a good friend, Fran Cardama (mild
mannered doctor by day; crazed and obsessive palm fan by holiday),
I was driven south from Barcelona and up into the mountains a few
kilometres inland from Sitges and, after walking along a dirt track,
we came to a spot where "palmitos" dotted the landscape.
I challenge anyone not to he struck by the tenacity
of this palm. It seeded and grew out of cracks in bare rock, exposed
to intense heat and sunlight; it rubbed shoulders with Agaves on
mountainsides and survived even quite intense fires. According to
Fran, there are periodic fires in the area as there have been by
natural causes through history. The only difference now is the frequency
(most years, some areas catch fire) and the cause (sad to say, man
is normally to blame). I was shown the charcoaled remains of various
stems of this palm caused by last year's fires, out of which new
leaves were emerging. It is no wonder that this plant is extremely
cold hardy given that its insulating top layer is so effective that
it can protect the growing point from fire.
A Love Affair with Chamaerops
