Update of: Can Cocos n. grow naturally on Miyako island - south Japan

[palmfriend]

Hello there,

Thank`s to all of you who enjoyed my "Can Cocos nucifera grow naturally on Miyako island -south Japan" - thread.

I would like to present a short update herewith, please enjoy.

You might remember that I mentioned a brief conversation with the owner of a local nursery school about coconut palms

on Miyako and he mentioned something else, that I couldn`t get out of my head. He said that the current from the south

passes not only Miyako`s east coast - the one I checked out - no, it passes the west coast of our smaller neighbor island

Irabu as well. (in the meaning that coconuts get washed ashore there, too)

So, in order to "complete my mission", I thought, I need to pay that place a visit, too - and that was what I did today.

On the way to the Irabu-island bridge, Livistona ch. set up as road trees.

btw. the longest brigde in the Okinawa prefecture, about 3,5km long, opened two years ago. (Before that time Irabu island could only be reached by boat.)

The bridge reaches Irabu island southeast corner, then I made a short ride to the place with the red dot: The Toguchi-no-hama beach.

(The airport on left is just a civilian training facility for Japanese passenger planes - so, there are no regular flights to and from this island.)

Two beautiful coconut palms were welcoming me, but the big question still remaining was: Do/Can coconut nucifera grow on the beach, too?

 A beautiful looking beach but with a big warning: "Be aware of the current - don`t swim alone! etc..."

All right, passing the entry point...

...I had the sun in front, so I went to the opposite side and turned around...

Wow!!! - It is not Hawaii, but this place looks what I was looking for. Probably sprouted and grown coconut palms from coconuts washed ashore...

Some more pics:

...and...

...coconuts are there, too.

here, a taller one and young one.

I have tried to enter the boscage but there was no way to enter it - so, this or these palms are probably grown naturally over here...

Ok, and here some images about how far "romantic" it can go naturally in south Japan

Finding this one on my way back...

...I couldn`t resist and took it home. There was still a strong splashy sound when I shook it, so why not giving it a try...

So, after this additional trip to one of our neighbor islands I am tending to say that there might be a small chance for coconut palms

to grow naturally - but I am not 100% sure.

However it was fun to try to find out about it - I will be still on this topic and I will let you know if more comes up.

Thank you for your time,

best regards -

Lars

 

[GottmitAlex]

Very nice find. Extraordinary adventure. I noticed those coconut palms have wider trunks than the usual tall variety.  And that elongated coco has a "prehistoric" look to it.

 

 

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

Way to go, Lars!  I think you found the answer to your question.  I doubt very seriously if anyone planted those coconut palms on what appears to be a remote stretch of beach, so I would say the answer is definitely YES, they can and do grow naturally there when some nuts wash up.  I am curious, what is your annual average rainfall there, and what is the normal high and low temp during the coldest month in the winter in degrees F?

John

[palmfriend]

On 2017/9/7 13:16:37, GottmitAlex said:

Very nice find. Extraordinary adventure. I noticed those coconut palms have wider trunks than the usual tall variety.  And that elongated coco has a "prehistoric" look to it.

 

 

Alex,

Thank`s a lot - it is really fun to drive around and explore the islands, especially since now all of them are connected via bridges the our Miyako "main" island.

There is still a lot to discover and I am on it!

On 2017/9/16 23:55:48, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

Way to go, Lars!  I think you found the answer to your question.  I doubt very seriously if anyone planted those coconut palms on what appears to be a remote stretch of beach, so I would say the answer is definitely YES, they can and do grow naturally there when some nuts wash up.  I am curious, what is your annual average rainfall there, and what is the normal high and low temp during the coldest month in the winter in degrees F?

John

John,

I agree, the answer should be yes. But since I am not botanist or biologist at all, I am lacking the self confidence to put "yes" in capitals.

best regards -

Lars

 

[palmfriend]

John,

I am sorry, I haven`t answered your questions:

Regarding our monthly rainfall:

Roughly spoken about 140ml between October and March, during summer (April until Sept.) about 180ml, but every year

seems to be different. I have seen dry summers with no rain for weeks and summers with daily rainfalls for an hour.

I guess it has to do with the overall Pacific weather and its phenomenons but I am not an expert.

Temperatures:

Winter highs - sometimes 24C/76F or higher for even weeks,

average - 18,5C/65F (but definitely warmer on sunny days)

lows (usually just on days with northern winds): average 16C/61F; sometimes 12C/54F (usually once during the winter for one or two days max.),

"lowest low" I have experienced so far: 9C/49F for three or four hours - happened once in eight years.

All right, I hope this might be good for moment -

best regards

Lars

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

2 hours ago, palmfriend said:

John,

I am sorry, I haven`t answered your questions:

Regarding our monthly rainfall:

Roughly spoken about 140ml between October and March, during summer (April until Sept.) about 180ml, but every year

seems to be different. I have seen dry summers with no rain for weeks and summers with daily rainfalls for an hour.

I guess it has to do with the overall Pacific weather and its phenomenons but I am not an expert.

Temperatures:

Winter highs - sometimes 24C/76F or higher for even weeks,

average - 18,5C/65F (but definitely warmer on sunny days)

lows (usually just on days with northern winds): average 16C/61F; sometimes 12C/54F (usually once during the winter for one or two days max.),

"lowest low" I have experienced so far: 9C/49F for three or four hours - happened once in eight years.

All right, I hope this might be good for moment -

best regards

Lars

Thanks, Lars.  You truly do have a tropical island there, and with those very mild winter temps, you should have mature coconut palms full of nuts all over your island!

John