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A garden enthusiast who loves to travel and capture the beauty of places and freeze the memories of her travels in photographs, as well as document her experiences in verse...thankful for the simple pleasures in life.

Monday, May 16, 2011

A Foxy Tale

Since I have begun to feature palm trees, I find that there are actually so many interesting varieties here in my town itself. This one is a Foxtail Palm. There are many tales about the Fox Tail...




The trunk is self-cleaning and has a smooth appearance.


Tale # 1
The botanical world didn't know about the foxtail palm until 1978 when a man named Wodyeti brought it to the attention of Australian botanists.


Tale # 2
The palm was given the genus name Wodyetia after Wodyeti, an Aboriginal man.


It got its common name, Foxtail Palm, from the shape of the foliage.
Tale # 3
It was classed as a rare palm in Queensland.
Tale # 4
After it became known to the world, these palms became so sought after that a blackmarket trade formed for selling the seeds of the foxtail palm. Today. it is the world's most popular palm.

The flowers are produced when the palms are mature at 12 years of age!
Stalks of white flowers grow from the base of the crownshaft.
If you look close enough, you can see a yellow bird taking cover from my prying eyes. Too bad it didn't peek out at me...that would have been the perfect shot! This particular tree is about 20 feet high; Foxtails can grow up to a height of 30 feet.

The large, oval-shaped, green fruits turn orange-red when ripe.


11 comments:

  1. Isn't it amazing how much you notice when you really LOOK at something? Neat photos of the palm trees!

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  2. very cool palm...love the fruit

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  3. Absolutely gorgeous!! I find palm trees very fascinating and I loved the story behind it. Thanks for sharing, Jannet

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  4. I never knew palms had flowers! Great shots. Happy Macro Monday.

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  5. @ EG WOW - Thanks EG, I'm looking with fresh eyes at what my neighbourhood has to offer!

    @ Donna - Too bad they're not edible. Haha...mini coconuts.

    @ Jannet - Thanks Jannet, am posting more on palm trees soon.

    @ Kala - We normally don't notice them, but the camera picks up all that we don't see!
    Rosie

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  6. Beautiful shots! Looks like the birds are going to have a party with so much food for them.

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  7. Fascinating! I wonder if the fruits are edible. We lived in Puerto Rico for a year and I loved the palm trees at Luquillo Beach and the way they curved out over the sand. Nancy

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  8. I really enjoy palm trees and go to the botanical gardens just for them and the orchids. Is it not amazing how we can want for what we can not have? Lucky for blogs like yours.

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  9. I hope you don't mind the visit.... HOLY cow is that impressive. But 12 YEARS?! I am not that patient! LOL
    Darn good thing the Big Guy sidn't make me a palm tree! ;-)

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  10. Interesting! I don't think I've ever seen fruit on a palm.

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  11. By the way... where's the water? :-(

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