San Diego Zoo Pics- Name That Wonderful Specimen!

[NM_PALM_BOY]

Hello All,

I was at the San Diego Zoo this weekend and saw an amazing palm. Some of the pros can identify this one but I, as a novice, was amazed...name that palm!

Doug (Still amazed by palms)

[Palmarum]

Caryota gigas (obtusa), Thai Mountain Giant Fishtail.

Ryan

[Zac in NC]

Yep. Looks like a gigas to me as well.

Impressive.

Zac

[NM_PALM_BOY]

Hey All,

OK...so I am a novice...easy one, huh.

[BS Man about Palms]

Tis' a Gigas to be sure, though you'll be hard pressed to find a larger one in Southern California!

Glad you brought a Ranch Hand to the Zoo with you!!!

[NM_PALM_BOY]

Bill,

The "ranch hand" would be my blushing bride.  She's 5'8"...modeled for me for perspective.

Doug

NM (AND CA) resident now

[deezpalms]

I have seen 1 bigger in san juan capistrano with a clean, black trunk and ohh boy is it MASSIVE!!

[NM_PALM_BOY]

Hey Dave,

Just thinking...if you REALLY want to annoy the neighbors  (and permanently block out the sun!) :cool: plant one of these in the yard! It is my understanding that most So Cal'ers would not be happy if their view of the ocean or mountains were blocked.

Doug

PS: Do you have pics of the one in SJC?

[deezpalms]

no I don't. sorry Doug. It's at a nursery called Seaside Palm Growers.

[BigFrond]

That gigas had only about five feet of trunk about 5 years ago.  It is fast.

[Jeff Searle]

This is a pic. of a beautiful speciman. She,sorry, I mean the palm is really nice. I once saw a pic. with a woman in it for scale, it was approx. 80-90' tall. It was photographed in northern Thailand. Probably my favorite species of all the Caryota's.

[Fred Zone 10A]

I've got one of these in my garden, too.  It was planted two years ago from a 15 gallon pot and already has a trunk nearly one foot in diameter.  I water it nearly every day from spring through fall.  It's going to be a monster in five years.

[Zac in NC]

Isn't C gigas one of the largest leaves in the Plant Kingdom? If not the top, it is definitely in the top 10.

Zac

[Jeff Searle]

I also forgot to mention earlier, that I had a real nice speciman( a good 35') at the nursery planted. Until Hurricane Wilma blew in last October. It tweaked the head enough and left it at a 90 degree angle. It never did recover. Many of the Caryota species did not fair well with the high winds.

[NM_PALM_BOY]

Hi Jeff,

Thanks! She is a cutie..isn't she...and the palm is nice too! There is one other palm that is larger, but the name escapes me. It has the largest fronds, is the tallest and has the largest fruit (coconut) of any palm species in the world: about 40 lbs! If anyone can remember, we would appreciate it! It has a native "sexual" name because the flower is well, you know, of a sexual nature. I think if I remember correctly, about 10 feet long.

Doug

[Palmarum]

The palm, Raphia regalis has the largest leaves of any plant on Earth, 25 meters or more in length. The largest flower your thinking of is Amorphophallus titanum. The Double Coconut, Lodoicea maldivica, has the largest seed.

Ryan

[NM_PALM_BOY]

Hey Ryan,

Thanks for your input. "From ignorance to knowledge" (Carl Sagan)

Doug

[Kris]

Dear NM_Palm_Boy  

that palm Caryota Gigas is terrefic,as all of u

know that i love plams that are massive.

and this one varitey is shurely is big !

I have at my garden a caryota which is common

to india,here the leaves-lets are big but the fronds

are not as big as seen in your stills.but the stem of

our variety is quite massive.

and i am growing them in containers,as for now i do

not have pictures of this.

And in the first palm still i noticed that the old leaves of

the caryota gigas are very meticuliously trimmed,since

i used to tear them off from the main trunk.

Thanks for those lovely palm stills.

Love,

Kris.

[Jim in Los Altos]

Oh jeez, how wide is that trunk? I planted a very small gigas seedling between a raised planter and my neighbor's fence three years ago and, of course, it's a few feet tall now and its base is only four inches from the fence. Will this thing be pushing down the fence in a few years?

[Palmarum]

Oh jeez, how wide is that trunk? I planted a very small gigas seedling between a raised planter and my neighbor's fence three years ago and, of course, it's a few feet tall now and its base is only four inches from the fence. Will this thing be pushing down the fence in a few years?

In a short answer, yes. It will gladly move the planter and the fence for you. It would require a minimum footprint of at least 8 feet in diameter, not all at first but eventually. More room the better, but young plants need shade to look perfect.

Ryan

[NM_PALM_BOY]

Hello All,

It is amazing to me how many people passed this palm by without a word. In fact, I had one person say,"What are you taking a picture of?" People forget that most zoos have more plant species on display than animal.

Doug

[Jeff Searle]

(NM_PALM_BOY @ Nov. 15 2006,22:09)

QUOTE

Hello All,

It is amazing to me how many people passed this palm by without a word. In fact, I had one person say,"What are you taking a picture of?" People forget that most zoos have more plant species on display than animal.

Doug

I think your right, isn't it a great thing!

     JEFF

[NM_PALM_BOY]

Hey Jeff,

Yes. If you look at each zoo you visit, often times it says, "____Zoo AND Botanical Gardens." That has been my experience. (Six zoos and counting!)

Doug

[DoomsDave]

Doug!

Best to you and your blushing bride!

Palm's okay, too.  By the way, it could also be a C. no, though I suspect not, since nos are paler in the trunk . . .

dave

[NM_PALM_BOY]

Dave,

Thanks..we actually got married on Oct. 7th.

Here is what the sign said in front of the palm (not that it is identified correctly!)

Doug