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That could well be true, although I think finding food is probably a more basic instinctive motivation than finding camouflage, so I'm inclined to the slightly more parsimonious explanation. This also accounts for mammalian herbivores that aren't green, and a lot of red-emergent leaf palms such as Geonoma and Calyptrocalyx are very small plants accessible to ground-level browsers. Probably a combination of these things is true; evolution is almost never simple.

Brahea Armata

They are very easy to germinate, but lose their viability quite quickly. Keep them moist around ~75-90 and they should sprout within 2-3 weeks. They grow very quickly. The seedlings do not tolerate drying out and are very sensitive to cold and draughts. Don't keep the seedlings in an unnaturally humid environment for too long as they will have difficulty adapting to lower humidity when you remove them from it; maybe this is not much of a problem in Indonesia. I have found the seedlings rather susceptible to scale, which is near impossible to remove manually due to the spines. Again, you might not have this problem with your climate being more optimal. I have not managed to kill any due to root disturbance, but perhaps I'm just careful. The roots are shallow when they are small so deep pots are not necessary. Better have a small pot and let the roots fill it before attempting to re-pot.

Looking up to this coconut palm

Hi, Soaking the seeds in lukewarm water for three days should do it, if possible change the water daily. After that I usually put them in a pot with peat moss. Some growers spray the seeds with something to avoid mold, I never did. If the seeds are very fresh, you don't even need to soak them, but that depends on their condition. Alright, I hope it helps, good luck.

Good amount of rain last 2 days. Just that little bit and everything looks more lush.

That’s WA for you, try @Tyrone in WA he is into palms and has some good stuff going in his yard. I do sell seeds of various things now and then if that’s of intrest for you. Crazy state regulations taking the fun out palm growing!

Oh I happily would however WA is the wild west, hard to get many species over the border. The one good remaining palm specialist nursery is shutting down and the other here sells only a handful of sp over the usual commons.

It doesn’t matter what the season is with this palm, any season they love. Try to get some Ravenea glauca or sambiranensis if you can!

Looking better than me Tim after a heavy night of anything! Richard

Thank you for your reply! @palmfriend Alright I'll try to be careful with the roots! Btw, how much long do i need to soak for the seeds?

I planted one in the middle of our hot Perth summer this year so 6 months in the ground has been a rocket, constantly sending out new spears. Even now we are getting smashed with 2°c mornings it doesn't seem to be slowing down. Sand over clay soils, north west facing garden.

One more thing - The pot gets very hot in the sun. Therefore the roots also get much hotter than if it were in-ground.

Give bleach a try in lieu of hydrogen peroxide if you’ve got some handy. I’ve found especially for old seeds that have some visible surface mould, it cleans them up really quickly. I use a pretty strong dilution (I don’t measure but I’d guess 25-50%) for a short time (3-10 mins, again not timed) and it doesn’t seem to damage the seeds at all but cleans up anything attached. Just ensure you give them a really good rinse and scrub afterwards. I think I actually used bleach before and after soaking in water for the Brahea sarukhanii and Brahea aculeata as I didn’t have any peroxide on hand. I reckon those Trachycarpus seeds will be prime candidates for this treatment. I got pretty good germination initially so I know the seed is good. And Trachys can germinate after quite some time.

Thanks Dale🤙

Usually when you buy a whole flat of seedlings like I do you will end up with a handfull on the blue side of the spectrum.This one looked so good I decided to keep it for myself.

Well I know what I'll be doing this weekend. Keen to try this out on the B clara you sent me, only one germinated in the first tranche. Also some Trachycarpus species that haven't done much, and Arenga engleri from Richard. Might need to find some bulk hydrogen peroxide.

After a few weak spin ups, and a long break, We have storm 4 on the board today... ..Won't last long, and like the other 3 that have formed so far this season, Douglas will spend it's life out over open water. That said, there have been increasing suggestions that E. Pac. activity may pick up as we head into July as the MJO sides into a favorable phase for this side of the world.. On that note, ...a very interesting study was released today looking at what the future may hold regarding impacts from Tropical systems in a part of the world where events like Hilary are rare ..for now.. Article link to the study: https://sustainability.stanford.edu/news/hurricane-rainfall-and-landslide-risk-rise-southern-california Thoughts from Daniel Swain: ..While squarely focused on CA, an increasing, future risk of TC and/or Hurricane - related rainfall events there means such risks are likely to rise here in AZ / other portions of the region where effects from these events are fairly uncommon, but not as rare as they are in CA atm as well.

Arenarius

Nice comparison of the blue and green. Here is my green arenarius, it’s in full blazing sun, The leaf detail of the green, My blue arenarius which gets a bit less sun, Leaf detail of the blue,

As nice as it would be nice seeing big storms gaining size over the mountains and across the horizon to my southeast out the window atm, ...at least it isn't 110+ Slight breeze, vibrant, bright blue skies and some really dry air makes the current 1:43PM temp of 97F feel pretty decent. ....Again, the oven could be cranked to " as far as the dial can go " out there right now.. ...so take what you see out there today, on July 1st.. as a win. May reach the lower 100s around the valley thru the rest of the afternoon, before cooling off -quite nicely- after the sun sets.. Press replay, though maybe a couple degs warmer, tomorrow.. As we reach the holiday weekend, the nice break from the heat we've enjoyed the last few days will slowly slip away as the troughiness over the west responsible for it fades out and we await to see what the next transition in the local / regional weather pattern brings. Sonoita will hang onto the " nice " weather all weekend and into next week, regardless.. While temps will steadily increase thru the 4th, Depending on just how much mid / high level cloud cover returns to our skies on Friday, and over the weekend itself, " Open Oven Door " - Level heat / return of hot nights may hold off until the start of next week. Dew Points will start steadily returning to levels we expect to see this time of year as the holiday weekend concludes as well. Could that signal ..what we hope it might? ..All i'll say for now is ...Keep your eyes on the forecasts Find equilibrium in any noise, ..And keep those fingers crossed.. At the very least, it continues to appear that some deg. of rain / storm chances start building / increasing across portions of the Rim / White Mtns, and across S and S.E AZ as we head into next week. We'll see just how close they may get to the lower deserts by the end of next week. On that note, a look at how July may play out.. Considering all the back and forth between model thoughts on the pattern next month right now, there is no guarantee what you see here will pan out. No guarantee it won't, either.. ...Just for the heck of it, a peak into Aug.. Keep them crossed.... Kick back and relax, ..and enjoy some sky works, ..if you choose to this year.... ......And convince me.

Green arenarius with its first new frond with me

Clinostigma after a night of heavy rainfall. Tim

Here’s a better picture of the leaf pattern on the Blue Arenarius and also a few of my Green Arenarius. The green is not in full sun like the Blue and you can tell how “thin” the leaflets look in comparison. Blue has better form as it’s much more compact looking. -dale Blue Arenarius Green Arenarius

BTW, the round, red, pendant seeds in the photo are from a Licuala in the background. Tim