IMG: What do you think about the natural distribution
range of the genus Trachycarpus in general, and could there be other
undiscovered species out there?
Martin: As I said, Trachycarpus grows in a band
from west to east which tapers out in China and towards north Vietnam.
It is also worth mentioning that several species we found grow in
very tiny areas. Princeps immediately comes to mind. It just grows
in one tiny area just a few hundred square metres. Takil is the
same, as is oreophilus. It just grows on one cliff top and, although
it could be a couple of square miles, it is still very local. In
all of these cases if you didn't happen to know they were there
you could easily pass by and not even notice them. This makes me
optimistic that there are more species to be discovered especially
in a place like north Vietnam which hasn't had a great deal of botanical
exploration. Another example is T. latisectus. In the wild it just
grows on one tiny cliff face and there are perhaps forty individual
trees and that's it. When they are gone it will be extinct in the
wild, but if you didn't know they were there you would certainly
not stumble across them by accident. Since we have found several
species in such tiny areas, it is logical to assume that there are
other tiny areas that we have missed. I also think there are other
species of Trachycarpus in the hills of northern Burma, an area
that hasn't been explored properly for over fifty years and even
then not terribly well. But I will never go there whilst that terrible
regime is in power; as soon as it falls, however, I'll be on the
first plane to Mandalay.
IMG: What is Plectocomia himalayana, where have
you seen it and what conditions does it grow in?
Martin: Plectocomia himalayana is a very interesting
palm. It grows in the Kalimpong area of West Bengal in north east
India. It is a climbing palm, a rattan, grows to about 80 ft and
snakes itself up into the treetops. It doesn't have a very thick
stem, maybe about an inch in diameter; is very spiny; and the leaf
rachis, the central stem of the leaf, is extended into a cirrus
which is a long whip-like leaf extension covered with backward facing
spines. It is using this that enables the palm to climb up into
the treetops. They are in an area that gets frosted every year,
growing at about a 2500m elevation. I am optimistic that they can
grow outdoors in this country, particularly in a sheltered area
such as London or the south west of Britain, based on the natural
environment in which they grow. They don't grow in an area with
hot temperatures, but rather mild summers, cool winters, and plenty
of rain.
IMG: What are your recollections of visiting
the high Atlas Mountains of Morocco? What were the conditions in
which Chamaerops humilis variety cerifera was growing?
Martin: We heard about Chamaerops humilis var. cerifera
from a customer who had seen it growing in the Atlas Mountains.
Prior to that it was only represented in collections in very small
numbers such as the south of France and Valencia botanical garden
in Spain. We went up to the high Atlas Mountains of Morocco and
what completely surprised us was that we found not hundreds, not
thousands, but tens of thousands of examples of 'Chamaerops cerifera.'
Sometimes they covered the entire landscape from horizon to horizon
in a sea of blue. The extraordinary thing is that they are so common
in the wild yet so rare in cultivation with no real explanation.
We were able to collect hundreds of thousands of seeds, and our
friend there is still collecting seeds for us. We have distributed
them around the world. In fact, the seeds in the wild have a very
poor germination largely due to the attention of goats, rats and
other animals. Also the harshness of the climate means only a small
percent germinate, but the seeds are good, and when brought into
cultivation, and given ideal conditions, they germinate well. As
regards cold hardiness of the climate, they grow up to very high
altitudes up to 1700 m where it is bitterly cold in winter, scorchingly
hot in the summer, and very dry in the dry season. They grow well
in such extremes of climate but adapt well to more temperate conditions.
Interview with the Editor
