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Can Cocos nucifera can grow naturally on Miyako island - south Japan?


palmfriend

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Hello there,

Thank you for your time following my other thread "Some Cocos nucifera on Miyako island - south Japan" so far!

The question came up if Cocos nucifera (can) grow naturally here on this island - and that somehow got me hooked.

I will try to explain in some simple worlds our islands geography while illustrating it with some photos and will end

this one with a summary of a brief conversation with a local...

If you are interested - please lay back and enjoy.

Since the sale of coconut palms is a young business over here, I concluded that the older and taller ones I presented in my other

thread, must have been once washed ashore and placed on purpose (...or not). With this in mind I went to those places of our

island, which are usually affected the most by the current from the south. I simply wanted to find out, if there are coconut palms

or not.

The best place to look for cocnuts washed ashore is our east coast...

001x.thumb.jpg.341bfd3153cd282653babe2be

and...

002x.thumb.jpg.cf4b407ecc9bd8ba1d28bfcf7

...but as you can see, it is mostly pretty steep and has just a few pockets. (I could not check this particular place at that moment because there was a big

cleaning party going on and I was not interested in following my own business while all the others were collecting garbage...)

So I went on to the next place (same coast)...

003x.thumb.jpg.35efa121e491a4146517d4fdf

a beach called Aragusuku. And here we are...

004x.thumb.jpg.01061b03168c0812e5d4d3c09

Coconuts! (During the summer all the beaches are cleaned up for the tourists, even almost all coconuts are being collected and thrown away. :rant:)

So, the next step was to enter the boscage...

005x.thumb.jpg.43a76f23ace7c137eec8a8cdd

I will make it short for you - I looked intensively here and there - but there was abolutely nothing. Since a coconut palm sticks out somehow, I am pretty sure

there was not a single one.

All right, next beach...

006x.thumb.jpg.6462fb892f650d4fb4b2eb74b

Always a good place to find at least one coconut during the winter - at this time this place is cleaned up, too - ...so, how about a sprouted one among the shrubs...

007x.thumb.jpg.8e74f7fe26edaf5535f682e7e

Nope,....nothing.

Next place, south coast...

009x.thumb.jpg.6d9796425227d53fb8f034116

...almost the same structure as the east coast, steep with....

008x.thumb.jpg.e652c08fc67d50f3b1e70673e

pockets... But since this beach, called "Bora bora", is well maintenanced, I saved myself the trip down there because I wouldn`t be sure if a possible coconut

palm might have been placed there for ornamental reasons...

Next place,...

010x.thumb.jpg.7ec63cab6a85395a5ce7a7dce

...the Yonaha-mae beach. A very long one and probably the most beautiful in Japan. Cleanend up regularly through the whole year...upps..

011x.thumb.jpg.33d88bde5edbe26772f52f472

Wow - but finding a coconut on this most frequented beach is very likely a hopeless case - pushed, shaked and kicked probably a hundred

times by the people on the beach. I left it where I found it - checking the shrubs took just seconds, there was nothing what looked like a

coconut palm...

I left the coastal area with the conclusion: No, this island is probably not a place where coconut palms could have grown naturally in the past -

you have to put a hand on it. Otherwise I would have already found signs of a coconut related culture - meaning cropping for nutritional, economical

or ornamental reasons, but there are no traces of it.

Then I went to a place, where a nursery company let nature taking its course - they do "nothing" at that place except growing Zingiber officinale (ginger)

as natural as possible. There are plenty of palms and other plants...

012x.thumb.jpg.bb6ff678d9fdfdbf3f74b4118

one more...

013x.thumb.jpg.304e1626364e94d644b55981c

Beautiful, and that`s why one more...

014x.thumb.jpg.b641581d0bc716fd4ec1d7888

To my suprise the nursery`s owner showed up and I didn`t hesitate to ask him about a possible coconut palm history on this island. He said, there is no such thing,

all the older plants you can find mostly in the city area were planted after washed ashore. There were efforts in the past, to get coconuts of those ones germinated

but often without success. But now, with the increasing number of (already established) coconut palms on this island - and I guess with the grown knowledge about

this species in particular - the germination rate of dropped coconuts is getting more and more better, he said. After that I thank him cordially and left.

So, now, you might say, coconut palms are on their way to grow naturally over here - getting naturalized, in other words.

Finally I went to a place, where the gardeners of my own place of work are storing the coconuts they had to cut off due to safety reasons for the tourists...

015x.thumb.jpg.356418a6098e8a9fb33bf4bd2

Too many of them still not ripe, but a warm and protected spot...

016x.thumb.jpg.86d6a1e16f52660d1d6993a91

Oh, look what we got...

017x.thumb.jpg.75e88fc8aa90868baa02655ee

Beautiful!!

All right, and with this photo I would like to finish my little documentation - thank you very much for your time!

(I have to mention that I am just a palm enthusiast, nothing more! So don`t be too strict with your assessment. B))

Any comments or opinions are appreciated,

best regards,

Lars

 

 

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Nice island! I wonder why you can't sprout coconuts there easily though, in the Canary Islands they seem to sprout. Maybe Miyako island does not have a lot of sunshine.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 2017/8/27 21:01:59, Pal Meir said:

Very interesting documentation and nice trip around Miyako Island! :greenthumb::)

Do you know anything about the naturally (?) growing palms on Miyako, i.e. Livistona chinensis and Arenga engleri (± var ryukyuensis)?

Pal Meir,

Thank yo very much!

I am intending to do the same with the Livistona ch. and Arenga e. - I can`t set a time frame but I am definitely on it!

Btw., please my update of this thread.

On 2017/8/28 4:46:51, Monòver said:

No coconuts, but very nice place. 

Thanks for these pictures!

Monover,

you are welcome!

"No cocconuts,"...let`s see, maybe I`ve found something, please check my update-thread.

On 2017/8/28 6:51:08, Cluster said:

Nice island! I wonder why you can't sprout coconuts there easily though, in the Canary Islands they seem to sprout. Maybe Miyako island does not have a lot of sunshine.

Cluster,

Thank`s a lot!

It is a good question, but it is probably not the lack of sunshine - our sun is very strong almost too strong. It is probably a matter

of timing when the coconut got washed ashore (overall condition of the coconut, crabs on beach, season of the year...) Those

coconuts - already ON the island - are sprouting without any problems.

However, be invited to my follow up of this thread -

best regards @ all -

Lars

 

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Of course! Okinawa is a tropical paradise.

sec01-img01.jpg

00bf26b753818b5852e9222d3783799b--japan-

 

Coconuts are common in the coastal resorts. I'm completely sure that they can be planted all across the coastal parts of the island...

33223_1.jpg

CghzfVThohSAITleAAG52K91SOk929_R_550_412

moon-beach-palace-entrada.22.jpg

Edited by Alicante
  • Upvote 2

I live in Altea, Spain 38°34'N 0º03'O. USDA zone 11a. Coastal microclimate sheltered by mountains. 
The coconuts shown in my avatar are from the Canary Islands, Spain ! :)

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On 27/8/2017 23:51:08, Cluster said:

Nice island! I wonder why you can't sprout coconuts there easily though, in the Canary Islands they seem to sprout. Maybe Miyako island does not have a lot of sunshine.

Can't compare apples with peaches. Albeit warmer, Naha, the capital of Okinawa has cooler winters than most of the coastal Canaries do. 2 months don't have high averages even arriving to 20ºC. Btw this is not a problem as you can sprout the coconut after March and Okinawa has a very quick spring warmup.

As well as the winter sunshine hours of Okinawa (Naha) are much, much lower. Btw, Okinawa has few zones with full tropical climates and the southern Miyako Islands are at 23-25ºN, making them fully tropical. Check my pics from above, they resemble any paradise looking resort in the Caribbean. Some giant coconuts are missing but give them time! Okinawa is at 26ºN and from March to December their climate is fully tropical, specially the summer, as tropical as Sumatra. :greenthumb:

Edited by Alicante
  • Like 1
  • Upvote 1

I live in Altea, Spain 38°34'N 0º03'O. USDA zone 11a. Coastal microclimate sheltered by mountains. 
The coconuts shown in my avatar are from the Canary Islands, Spain ! :)

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  • 2 weeks later...
On ‎8‎/‎27‎/‎2017‎ ‎4‎:‎38‎:‎37‎, palmfriend said:

 

Hello there,

Thank you for your time following my other thread "Some Cocos nucifera on Miyako island - south Japan" so far!

The question came up if Cocos nucifera (can) grow naturally here on this island - and that somehow got me hooked.

I will try to explain in some simple worlds our islands geography while illustrating it with some photos and will end

this one with a summary of a brief conversation with a local...

If you are interested - please lay back and enjoy.

Since the sale of coconut palms is a young business over here, I concluded that the older and taller ones I presented in my other

thread, must have been once washed ashore and placed on purpose (...or not). With this in mind I went to those places of our

island, which are usually affected the most by the current from the south. I simply wanted to find out, if there are coconut palms

or not.

The best place to look for cocnuts washed ashore is our east coast...

 

 

001x.thumb.jpg.341bfd3153cd282653babe2be

and...

002x.thumb.jpg.cf4b407ecc9bd8ba1d28bfcf7

...but as you can see, it is mostly pretty steep and has just a few pockets. (I could not check this particular place at that moment because there was a big

cleaning party going on and I was not interested in following my own business while all the others were collecting garbage...)

So I went on to the next place (same coast)...

003x.thumb.jpg.35efa121e491a4146517d4fdf

a beach called Aragusuku. And here we are...

004x.thumb.jpg.01061b03168c0812e5d4d3c09

Coconuts! (During the summer all the beaches are cleaned up for the tourists, even almost all coconuts are being collected and thrown away. :rant:)

So, the next step was to enter the boscage...

005x.thumb.jpg.43a76f23ace7c137eec8a8cdd

I will make it short for you - I looked intensively here and there - but there was abolutely nothing. Since a coconut palm sticks out somehow, I am pretty sure

there was not a single one.

All right, next beach...

006x.thumb.jpg.6462fb892f650d4fb4b2eb74b

Always a good place to find at least one coconut during the winter - at this time this place is cleaned up, too - ...so, how about a sprouted one among the shrubs...

007x.thumb.jpg.8e74f7fe26edaf5535f682e7e

Nope,....nothing.

Next place, south coast...

009x.thumb.jpg.6d9796425227d53fb8f034116

...almost the same structure as the east coast, steep with....

008x.thumb.jpg.e652c08fc67d50f3b1e70673e

pockets... But since this beach, called "Bora bora", is well maintenanced, I saved myself the trip down there because I wouldn`t be sure if a possible coconut

palm might have been placed there for ornamental reasons...

Next place,...

010x.thumb.jpg.7ec63cab6a85395a5ce7a7dce

...the Yonaha-mae beach. A very long one and probably the most beautiful in Japan. Cleanend up regularly through the whole year...upps..

011x.thumb.jpg.33d88bde5edbe26772f52f472

Wow - but finding a coconut on this most frequented beach is very likely a hopeless case - pushed, shaked and kicked probably a hundred

times by the people on the beach. I left it where I found it - checking the shrubs took just seconds, there was nothing what looked like a

coconut palm...

I left the coastal area with the conclusion: No, this island is probably not a place where coconut palms could have grown naturally in the past -

you have to put a hand on it. Otherwise I would have already found signs of a coconut related culture - meaning cropping for nutritional, economical

or ornamental reasons, but there are no traces of it.

Then I went to a place, where a nursery company let nature taking its course - they do "nothing" at that place except growing Zingiber officinale (ginger)

as natural as possible. There are plenty of palms and other plants...

012x.thumb.jpg.bb6ff678d9fdfdbf3f74b4118

one more...

013x.thumb.jpg.304e1626364e94d644b55981c

Beautiful, and that`s why one more...

014x.thumb.jpg.b641581d0bc716fd4ec1d7888

To my suprise the nursery`s owner showed up and I didn`t hesitate to ask him about a possible coconut palm history on this island. He said, there is no such thing,

all the older plants you can find mostly in the city area were planted after washed ashore. There were efforts in the past, to get coconuts of those ones germinated

but often without success. But now, with the increasing number of (already established) coconut palms on this island - and I guess with the grown knowledge about

this species in particular - the germination rate of dropped coconuts is getting more and more better, he said. After that I thank him cordially and left.

So, now, you might say, coconut palms are on their way to grow naturally over here - getting naturalized, in other words.

Finally I went to a place, where the gardeners of my own place of work are storing the coconuts they had to cut off due to safety reasons for the tourists...

015x.thumb.jpg.356418a6098e8a9fb33bf4bd2

Too many of them still not ripe, but a warm and protected spot...

016x.thumb.jpg.86d6a1e16f52660d1d6993a91

Oh, look what we got...

017x.thumb.jpg.75e88fc8aa90868baa02655ee

Beautiful!!

All right, and with this photo I would like to finish my little documentation - thank you very much for your time!

(I have to mention that I am just a palm enthusiast, nothing more! So don`t be too strict with your assessment. B))

Any comments or opinions are appreciated,

best regards,

Lars

 

 

Great research Lars.  I love the photos, and you certainly have a BEAUTIFUL tropical island there .  I bet the snorkeling and scuba diving are great there in that crystal clear water!

John

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On 2017/9/16 23:45:00, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

Great research Lars.  I love the photos, and you certainly have a BEAUTIFUL tropical island there .  I bet the snorkeling and scuba diving are great there in that crystal clear water!

John

John,

Thank you very much - I am glad you enjoyed it! Yes, you are correct, the sea around our island is indeed a snorkeling and scuba paradise. There are no rivers

on the island, so, the sea is almost everywhere crystal clear.

On 2017/9/17 2:01:47, PalmTreeDude said:

Nice! Coconut hunting and crystal clear water. Good combo!

PTD,

Thank`s a lot! Yes, I really enjoy it driving around and do palm spotting - I think, there is still a lot to discover over here, I`ll keep the palmtalkers updated!

On 2017/9/7 13:35:59, Alicante said:

Can't compare apples with peaches. Albeit warmer, Naha, the capital of Okinawa has cooler winters than most of the coastal Canaries do. 2 months don't have high averages even arriving to 20ºC. Btw this is not a problem as you can sprout the coconut after March and Okinawa has a very quick spring warmup.

As well as the winter sunshine hours of Okinawa (Naha) are much, much lower. Btw, Okinawa has few zones with full tropical climates and the southern Miyako Islands are at 23-25ºN, making them fully tropical. Check my pics from above, they resemble any paradise looking resort in the Caribbean. Some giant coconuts are missing but give them time! Okinawa is at 26ºN and from March to December their climate is fully tropical, specially the summer, as tropical as Sumatra. :greenthumb:

 

Adam,

great summary - I couldn`t have it explained better! As you pointed out, there is indeed quite a gap between the Okinawa main island in the north and

the southern islands (Miyako, Ishigaki and Iriomote plus several other smaller ones).

Btw., I am trying to get my one and only Pigafetta established - outside in the yard since last year`s late summer - and if I am not wrong, that one

is originally from Sumatra. ;)

best regards -

Lars

 

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Good investigative adventure, Lars. You made an effort, and that neat of nuts found at the end holds promise.

cheers,

jt

Shimoda, Japan, Lat: 36.6N, Long: 138.8

Zone 9B (kinda, sorta), Pacific Coast, 1Km inland, 75M above sea level
Coldest lows (Jan): 2-5C (35-41F), Hottest highs (Aug): 32-33C (87-91F)

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