Palms Around Darwin

[Daryl]

Just spent the last few days in Darwin, and the wet season is starting to get into gear. Everything was nice and green, and growing well. Ari and Scott were kind enough to let me stay with them for a couple of days...thanks guys!

I took quite a few photos during my stay and will put them into this thread...there's plenty so it may take me a few evenings...

Here's one for Mike (Newcal)...Gulubia costata

And here's Oncosperma tigillarum

Here's Ari's young Corypha umbraculifera

And here's a tripled headed Carpy

More photos later...

[Walter John]

Is that it for tonight ? Look forward to the next installments and may they be more than 4 pics.

[John in Andalucia]

Nice, Daryl. You have an eye for composition too.

[Daryl]

Here are some photos of the coast. Bismarckias are popular all over town, and they seem to grow better in Darwin than any other place in Oz.

The wet season colours the sky with clouds of all shades and shapes. The sea also changes with the weather. Here is a late afternoon photo looking out over Fannie Bay.

And further around towards Nightcliff

Menacing rain storm a few Ks out to sea...

Some more foreshore Bizzies

They plant them everywhere...

[Daryl]

The beach at Casuarina (Dripstone Cliffs)

Overlooking Nightcliff

East Point strata, different again...

While we're at East Point, here are some photos of the old gun emplacements there. Darwin was attacked by Japan in 1942, with quite a high loss of life. These guns were to help protect Darwin and it's fuel supply.

The guns were never fired in anger as they were anti-ship guns and the Japanese attacked from the air...

Today it is just a tourist attraction.

[Daryl]

Continuing with more palms...

Borassus flabellifer is becoming naturalised around town...

They try to hide, but how can you miss them?

They just seem to sprout up in ditches...

Of course, Darwin has a tropical climate and Sealing Wax Palms grow all over town...

[realarch]

Thanks Daryl, enjoyed the photos. Nice you were able to stay with Scott and Ari, they have such a nifty house.

Tim

[Steve]

Daryl,

Great pictures. I especially loved the pictures with the cloud patterns out over the ocean. Darwin looks to be quite a nice place. Since it is so tropical, I'm surprised its not up there with Sydney and Brisbane as an American tourist destination. Well the Aussie's should probably keep it as their hidden treasure anyway. We Yankees can sometimes be a loud-mouthed bunch when we travel! LOL

[Walter John]

Unreal, I wanna go back...........

[brodklop]

Fantastic Daryl... keep em coming... especially Hydriastele ramsayi. Did you get some Borassus seed

[ariscott]

Wow... Darwin looks so pretty in photos . We love it, that is why we are here... Yes, other places has more rain and maybe better climate... but we are tropicals and we have no water restriction. And where else you can have 5 acres, 35km's from town??

Regards, Ari

Edited December 17, 2008 by ariscott

[newcal]

Pic number 1.....i think i'm in luv. Thanks Daryl. Any pic of my Hydriastele ramsayii? ....cheers Mike (Newcal )

[Daryl]

Steve, I guess there is so much for a tourist to see and do in Oz, so time and money come into the equation. Darwin is a worthwhile destination, even for non-palm enthusiasts! All of the surrounding national parks etc are popular tourist destinations.

Brod, sorry no Bo seeds...they get cleaned up pretty quickly it seems. Somebody must be collecting and commando planting them

Ari, it looks prettier in person Seriously, it looks much nicer these days, with 30 years of growth after Cyclone Tracy and the influence of people such as George Brown.

Mike, sorry no photos of your palm...They all looked nice and healthy though! Apparently yours has sent its roots into the ground...

regards,

Daryl

[Daryl]

More palms...

Massive Attalea cohune

Copernicia hospita

These burnt Copernicia macroglossa are making a full recovery

Coccothrinax miraguama was looking good

Pseudophoenix vinifera was fruiting

[RainForestt Robert]

Thanks for the photos Darryl. I think that bismarcks are destined to be one of the tropical world's favorite street palms. Is it ok if I use your pictures to depict street plantings?

Robert

[Tala]

"Borassus naturalizing around town" sigh ... man you are just killin me, what I would give ...

great stuff, this magical place near the top of me to-go list, will get there someday...

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Daryl, incredible pictures as always. Darwin looks like a great place. I hope there are more?

[ariscott]

Mike, sorry no photos of your palm...They all looked nice and healthy though! Apparently yours has sent its roots into the ground...

regards,

Daryl

Yes... it has magically plant itself in my backyard....

Regards, Ari

[Daryl]

Here's some more random photos around Darwin...both in the Botanical Gardens and elsewhere...

Pseudophoenix vinifera

A nice pond in the BG

Looking the other way

Archontophoenix alexandrae and Bentinckia nicobarica

Grove of young A.alexandrae

Licuala grandis is a popular palm in Darwin

[Daryl]

Assorted Livistonas...

Corypha utan is very popular in suburban gardens...the locals don't seem to care about the size...

Here's a three headed frankencarpy...

Beccariophoenix 'Windows' at the Airport..they seem to like Darwin soils

Lodoicea starting to form a small trunk, and flowering...apparently all three are females...

Betel Nut was popular...the seeds were being gathered for eating that day...

[Daryl]

Assorted fan palms at the Sailing Club...

Caryota 'cockatooii' Covered in Corellas

Liv rotundifolia are spectacular

Latania dwarfed by Oncosperma

Astrocaryum growing very well

Satakentia was hidden away

[Daryl]

A nice row of true Dwarf Malay Coconuts...these are quite old palms

Corypha utan is planted everywhere, including this grove at Fannie Bay..it will be spectacular in a few years.

Livistona nasmophylla is a very attractive member of the genus...

Flame of the Rainforest...Chambeyronia macrocarpa...one of the reddest specimens I've ever seen.

Calyptronoma occidentalis

[Daryl]

Korthalsia

Ptychosperma, Areca and Veitchia forest

Livistona loriphylla

This guy wasn't very imaginative...Royals, Sealing Waxes and Verschafelltias...

The Gulubia that Mike Green missed out on...

Arenga undulatifolia is a popular palm around town as well...

[Daryl]

Thanks for the photos Darryl. I think that bismarcks are destined to be one of the tropical world's favorite street palms. Is it ok if I use your pictures to depict street plantings?

Robert

No worries Robert

[Daryl]

The street that I spent my childhood in...

Visited the Garden of Adam and Caitlyn in Rapid Creek...it will be a beautiful small 'town garden' in a couple of years..it was too dark for photos..only one turned out, but you get the idea...

A nice Dwarf

One of the local swimming spots...unfortunately closed due to 'organisms' in the water...Howard Springs

The water was fine for this 4ft long Barramundi though...

Plenty of other wildlife too...killer turtle...

This guy might bite...

[Walter John]

Yep, I'm gonna buy Darwin, as soon as it comes on the market.

Thanks Daryl, superb..

[realarch]

Great photos Daryl. Looks as though there are some pretty progressive folks in the city parks and recreation department when it comes to planting.

The photos of water are pretty dramatic.

Tim

[ariscott]

Great photos Daryl. Looks as though there are some pretty progressive folks in the city parks and recreation department when it comes to planting.

The photos of water are pretty dramatic.

Tim

Most of the planting were done in the late 80's and early 90's. Unfortunately, Darwin is going through 'native' phase at the moment... where people are encouraged to plant Top End Native trees... The native nazi is actually winning the argument at the moment. It is not like I have anything against natives, because I actually plant them myself on my property. Due to lack of imagination in the city planning part and availability at the nursery, they tend to plant one or two species everywhere. One of them is Hibiscus Tileaceous (sp?) rubra. They are now planted EVERYWHERE. I used to like them until they bombarded the place with it, now I feel like taking all 3 of mine out .

Not many palms are being planted these days and many palms in the residential blocks are being removed everyday. It is mainly because of the weedy Carpies, but people don't make distinction. I saw a few Alexandrea in the back of the trailer the other day... chopped up and taken to the tip. Palms are getting the bad reputation, which hopefully will change again. There are still some palm people out there here in Darwin. They are just very quiet...

Regards, Ari

[paulgila]

wow,very impressive! looks like everything grows there!!! do they need ultrasound techs? i think i asked you before,daryl,but you keep temping me!

thanks again,daryl,yer pix are always superb!

[gsn]

The water was fine for this 4ft long Barramundi though...

This guy might bite...

Daryl,

The palm pics are simply fantastic!

That barramundi is very similar,especially in shape to our snook, I have heard they are excellent eating, as are our snook.

What kind of goanna is that?

Edited December 19, 2008 by gsn

[realarch]

Thanks Ari. Well that certainly doesn't sound like good news, especially removing existing stock. Here's hoping perceptions change before too much damage is done.

Tim

[paulgila]

scott,is that hollywood director ron howard holding the fish?

[gsn]

Little Opie Taylor at his finest!!!

Barney Fife took the pic!

[_Keith]

The water was fine for this 4ft long Barramundi though...

This guy might bite...

Daryl,

The palm pics are simply fantastic!

That barramundi is very similar,especially in shape to our snook, I have heard they are excellent eating, as are our snook.

What kind of goanna is that?

I think of it closer to a Tarpon than to a Snook.

[Daryl]

The water was fine for this 4ft long Barramundi though...

This guy might bite...

Daryl,

The palm pics are simply fantastic!

That barramundi is very similar,especially in shape to our snook, I have heard they are excellent eating, as are our snook.

What kind of goanna is that?

I think the Goanna is a Mertens Water Monitor.

Barramundi is a great eating fish, and a real beauty to catch as it fights and jumps once hooked. They can apparently grow to 6ft, but the largest I've seen is 5ft.

Daryl

[Daryl]

One of the parks we went in search of earlier this week was Fred's Pass Reserve Palm Garden. This was created with the assistance of the NT Palm and Cycad Society in the mid to late 1980s. I read an article on it years ago, which has photos of local society members planting palms in a barren landscape, which mainly consisted of grass, and looked very exposed, and hot. There was no published information on the park, so Ari contacted Harvey Ottley, a local plant enthusiast/collector and one time member of the NT Palm Society. Harvey came to the rescue as she had been one of the original creators of the park. A short drive from Ari's place (less than 10 minutes) and were staring at a lovely collection of mature palms. Most of these were around 20 years old, and have survived and grown on their own. The only maintenance in the park is to keep the grassed areas mowed. The palms were all in good need of a trim, but the place was still great!

Here are some photos...

Grove of Calyptronoma

Everyhing is overgrown and in need aof a good trim, but still looks good!

[Daryl]

Verschaffeltias were popular

As were Arenga undulatifolia

Rhopaloblaste elegans looked spectacular too...

Metroxylons were all monsters..huge!

As was this Mauritia...the photo doesn't do it justice...this thing was enormous

[Daryl]

Arenga caudata clump

Gracefully arching Carpy...

Livistona benthami does not shed it's petioles without the aid of fire. It would be very hard to walk through a thicket of them...

Oncosperma is also a palm you need to be careful with..the fallen leaves are very spiny...not good if you are walking around and looking up at the canopy!

A real surprise was Nephrosperma van houtteanum We later found large plants of this for sale in a local nursery.

There were plenty of other rarish palms there such as Oenocarpus, Lodoicea etc etc

It was a great palm park that has grown into a real treat thanks to the efforts of local society members.

Daryl

[Walter John]

What a find Daryl, that's fabulous, thanks too to Harvey and Ari.

[Jonathan]

"One of the local swimming spots...unfortunately closed due to 'organisms' in the water...Howard Springs"

Would the 'organism' be a crocodile by any chance?