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Madagascar  Expedition  April 05


Jeff Searle

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J D,

    Not to confuse even more people with these names but, where did this D. sp. Voly Betamdronga name come from??? In all my years of traveling and growing, this is a new one on me. Can you say where the seed came from, or any other info. you can share?

Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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One more shot of "Back in time". Just to point out, as he pulls the stick with his hands on, up and down, this winds the string around the center pole and turns the drill bit at the base.   Black and Decker, you can sleep tonight.

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Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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Pete and I left on boat to head inland to search for more palms.

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Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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Just your average every day cows that you have to share the waterway with.

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Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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(Jeff Searle @ Jul. 07 2006,09:04)

QUOTE
Pete and I left on boat to head inland to search for more palms.

How about a pic of the boat Jeff. Not fair.

Happy Gardening

Cheers,

Wal

Queensland, Australia.

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Some of the local children in the village. Due to some boot problems, we were unable to make the day climb to view Dupsis bejofo, Marojejy darianii, and Lemurophoenix halleuxii.

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Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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(Jeff Searle @ Jul. 07 2006,09:19)

QUOTE
Some of the local children in the village.

Nice lookin' kids, with a budding Jimi H I see.

Happy Gardening

Cheers,

Wal

Queensland, Australia.

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This was our plane that would take us from Maroantsetra, to then Ile Sainte Marie the next day.

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Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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Here is Dr. Peter Balasky with a primary school teacher in Maroantsetra. Every year he takes upon himself to deliver large amounts of school supplies, tooth brushes, tooth paste, soccer balls and donates money that goes into the re-building of these local school houses. Some have been closed, due to the lack of funds to pay one teacher's salary!

    Pete has set up FRIENDS of MADAGASCAR, for anyone that would like to help.

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Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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One last picture of the classroom.

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Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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Here's your boat. Not bad, uhhh?

   Sorry, this is the boat from the Masoala trip. The one we took up river was alittle bit smaller and more narrow. Also only one engine.

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Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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We arrived on Ile Sainte Marie and spent about four days there. This was a beautiful Dypsis we found.

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Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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This palm we think was Dypsis corniculata. A small clustering or solitary palm with shiny leaves. We saw very few of these on the island. This was a nice find.

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Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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A close up of the leaf.

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Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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A beautiful understory Dypsis.

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Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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An unidentified Ravenea sp.

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Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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Our small rooms were we stayed on the beach.

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Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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A view along the beach.

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Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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We thought maybe this was Dypsis linearis.But loking in the POM book, it is not recorded on Ile Sainte Marie. Maybe John D. would like to set the record straight.

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Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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A more close-up.

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Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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Great photos Jeff.  Does anyone know the identity of that tall Pandanus?

San Fernando Valley, California

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The last palm, Dypsis sanctaemariae. This was such a hard palm to find. If this is the real sanctaemariae, then all these plants that have come in over the years from seed are not! As you can see, there's no petiole to speak of and the leaves are very narrow, entire or slightly split and upright . There were no flowers and all we found were three plants, after searching for several hours. This palm, I consider to be very endangered in this area.

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Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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Another view of the same.

post-23-1152304526_thumb.jpg

Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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The last one with Pete.

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Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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Jeff,

what a great collection of photos! I've enjoyed them all. The Orania ravaka is just spectacular, and I'm happy that I got some from Floribunda recently. Now I just have to wait a few years in order for them to get to that size....

I even called my wife over to the computer to show her some of the photos. No, not the palms even though she saw (and commented on) a few of them, but the school kids. She really enjoyed those photos!!!

Bo

Leilani Estates, 25 mls/40 km south of Hilo, Big Island of Hawai'i. Elevation 880 ft/270 m. Average rainfall 140 inches/3550 mm

 

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Bo,

  Thank-you for all your comments during this topic. It has been alot of fun(and work!) but well worth it. I only have one or two pic.'s and that will end it. I took so many pic.'s in some of the villages of the kids. It was so amazing to take a group shot of them and then turn the camera around and show them theirselves !! Always, within minutes I had 50-100 kids then wanting me to take their picture. Some of these kids have never seen a camera, let alone see themselves on it!!!

   You will love these Orania ravaka palms. My first one I planted at the house, was about six months ago. It's pushing 3' and seems to be happy where it is. It's on my driveway as you pull in, so everyone will eventually see it.

   BTW...are you coming to the DR? Hope to see you.

Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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Jeff,

Yes, I'm going to the DR. Intend to take care of registration etc within the next week or ten days.

BTW, forgot to ask you; you mentioned that because of boot problems you were unable to visit the area with D. bejofo, Marojejya and Lemurophoenix. So, you didn't seen any of these in habitat?

Bo

Leilani Estates, 25 mls/40 km south of Hilo, Big Island of Hawai'i. Elevation 880 ft/270 m. Average rainfall 140 inches/3550 mm

 

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Jeff,

The travelogue and photos are great.  Totally enjoy them.  While it is great to see palms in collections and cultivations i find a great thrill in viewing them in habitat.  Fabulous!  It is an opportunity to see a part of the world that is not easily accessible to most of us.  The photo of the guy working on his pot makes me realize how much we take for granted.  I checked out the shoes/sandals that some of your "guides/porters" wore.  It is amazing that they can cover the distances they do wearing so little.

Robert

Trinidad!  Southernmost island in the Caribbean.

So many plants, So little space.

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Bo,

   NO.....I made one mistake all trip. This trip up river to this area , I brought only my sneakers and not my good boots. Big mistake! The first afternoon, Pete, our good friend Pierrot, a guide and myself took off up hill to go look at two Voanioala's planted in cultivation on someone's property. Three hours later after numerous stream crossings and steep up hill climbing , I returned with very sore feet. We had climbed approx. half way up to the populations of these three big boys. Pete was exhusted as well. So the next morning, we sent three  up and collected some seed for us.  To this day, I am still dissapointed in myself. If and when I go back, this is high on my list to go to.  "Thats my story and I'm sticking to it !"

Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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Jeff,

Two questions for those of us who may go there someday.

What was your take on the malaria situation?

And, was the trip expensive once you got there. For example, how much did some of those nice little "hotels" run for a night?

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Kona, on The Big Island
Hawaii - Land of Volcanoes

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Bob,

   Thanks for the comments. Much appreciated. I t was truly amazing that some guides at times wore no shoes at all. The roots and rocks were incredible on the trails, especially in Marojejy. They were a great bunch of guys !

Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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Dean,

    First the malaria; I personally take a malaria pill once a week while I'm there. Others, believe in treating it once you contact it. "Not me James". The problem is that people don't take it because the one big side effect is that it causes bad dreams at night. With me, I have no problems. Talk to your doctor and see what he says.

   The Hotel de France in the capital cost around $75 per night. It's very clean and safe, nice. It.s a 3 star rating. Some of these little bungalows that we have stayed at, would be much cheaper and might include your meals . It just depends. Getting around can be difficult and expensive for a vehicle.

Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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(Jeff Searle @ Jul. 07 2006,21:58)

QUOTE
I took so many pic.'s in some of the villages of the kids. It was so amazing to take a group shot of them and then turn the camera around and show them theirselves !! Always, within minutes I had 50-100 kids then wanting me to take their picture. Some of these kids have never seen a camera, let alone see themselves on it!!!

Jeff,

I agree with everyone else, thank you for sharing all the great photos and details of your trip!  My wife and I had the same experience with kids in the villages, they all wanted their photo taken once they saw how the camera worked.  

Jack

Jack Sayers

East Los Angeles

growing cold tolerant palms halfway between the equator and the arctic circle...

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Dear Jeff Searle,

Iam Kris Achar From South India. your photos are great and i for one love 2 places on earth one is Ever green forest in

malaya peninsula and the other the amazon basin and i used to think about gods creation and is awe inspiring.but my friends with similar taste suggested 2 new island, they are madagascar and sea shells for exocitic palms & Trees.

Your photos have proved his statement.your and your friends in the pictures are living my dream...Way to go !

It appears like BBC Documentry on Madagascar_Earth File or

Panaroma.Simply Lovely !

But i wish to make a humble request to you_Jeff.

Can you also post pictures of Baobabs like adansonis_Za,

Grandidieri,Digitata,Madagascariensis etc..

And i heard that Bismarkia Nobilis(Siliver Form) is native to

this land.Can we eager members have pictures of the above trees in the wild.And if so you will make my Day !

And do take Care ( I mean the Malaria Problem In the Big Isalnd).

Love,

Kris (To all My Friends).

love conquers all..

43278.gif

.

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Jeff,

Sorry for the late reply.  I got a Dypsis sp. Voly Betamdronga from Phil Bergman.  It was quite a find.  I think some German guys took a trip and collected seed a number of years ago.  They have a website in german that has pics of this tree.  It is an interesting entire-leaf dypsis.  I'm just fortunate to have one of the few seedlings that are probably out there!

I'm jealous that you saw Voanioala in habitat.  It's one of my favorites!  I'm not sure if you talked about Lemurophoenix or not, but that would have been quite a site as well.  

JD

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Lovely pics!

Your pics of Dypsis sanctaemariae are definitely correctly named. This is certainly a seriously endangered species. Your unidentified Ravenea from Sainte Marie is the coastal form of Ravenea sambiranensis

John

John Dransfield

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Kris,

   I am sorry, but we were not near the southern areas of Madag. So, I never did see any Baobabs growing.  I would love to return some day and see these giants ! Thank-you for your kind remarks.

Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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John,

     Many thanks to you also for all your support!

Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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Well......this is my final picture and happens to be one of my favorites!! This shot shows how hard life is and can be for most Malagasy people. Many times they fish all morning, and we see them come in with very little(and small) fish. Thank-you to all  of you for your comments, I appreciated all the imput.

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Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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