Palms of the Seychelles

[Walter John]

As mentioned in the Madagascar thread, I present some photos by Phil Arrowsmith from the side trip to the Seychelles following on from the conquest of Madagascar.

Let's do this one species at a time and start at the top, the magical double coconut, Lodoicea maldivica, a plant William Shakespeare couldn't dream up, not even in midsummer.

[Walter John]

PACSOA web site tells us that the Lodoicea maldivica, also known as "Coco-de-Mer" is:

A very large, unarmed, fan palm to about 25m tall. It is famed for its enormous seeds, which weigh about 20kg, and are the largest seeds of any plant. The plant is dioecious, which means it has male and female plants, and the seeds take up to seven years to mature on the plant.

[Walter John]

Some "Double Coconut" pics in open spaces. Way to go Phil, these particluar ones make me

[PalmGuyWC]

Wow! The best habitat photos I've ever seen. Thanks Wal.

Dick

[chrisstrog1]

Thanks Wal,

great habitat pictures of a great palm with amazing seeds !

It's just great ....and all good !

Chris

[palmislandRandy]

Magnificent photos! Thanks

[SubTropicRay]

A place I must see before death. Great photos!

[Kris]

Dear Wal

Thanks for those mouthwatering visuals...

Love,

Kris

[JEFF from Trabuco Canyon CA]

Great pictures Wal! Thanks for sharing.

[epicure3]

Those really are the best Lodoicea maldivica pics I have ever seen and I have a library of palm books in my house. Fantastic. Thanks for sharing, Wal!

[paulgila]

great shots! thanks wal for posting & thanks to phil for taking em.

& thanks to w.shakespeare for...well,we'll think of something.

[TikiRick]

The Seychelles are on my bucket list in the top 5. Thanks for the pics.

[surferjr]

PACSOA web site tells us that the Lodoicea maldivica, also known as "Coco-de-Mer" is:

A very large, unarmed, fan palm to about 25m tall. It is famed for its enormous seeds, which weigh about 20kg, and are the largest seeds of any plant. The plant is dioecious, which means it has male and female plants, and the seeds take up to seven years to mature on the plant.

Great pics thanks Phil and Wal,

Phil I'm sure would admit the pictures don't do it justice. It's like taking a picture of an iceberg, these are massive in person! :hmm: This is Jurassic Park!!

Happy Holidays,

clark

[Walter John]

I don't know how as palm enthusiasts we could survive without someone going into the habitats of these gems to show us the real deals. I too am blown away by these pics as I post them. Phil and Jeff and the others have been very generous in allowing these to be posted I feel, thanks again to them and to you the reader and viewer for appreciating them.

Here's a male Lodociea.

[Walter John]

Here's a little teaser for the start of some habitat pics of Verschaffeltia splendida. You can see why this has been dubbed "Stilt Palm" in the past, even though there are other species with the same trait.

[paulgila]

fantastic stuff,wal!

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Thanks for posting these Wal. The Verschaffeltia trunks with stilt roots are very impressive!

[surferjr]

I don't know how as palm enthusiasts we could survive without someone going into the habitats of these gems to show us the real deals. I too am blown away by these pics as I post them. Phil and Jeff and the others have been very generous in allowing these to be posted I feel, thanks again to them and to you the reader and viewer for appreciating them.

Here's a male Lodociea.

Your straight up Wal.

By the way....it's the most expensive place on earth outside of Japan!

Also, this was a 2 day trip, by land and sea, to get to these locations.

[Hollywood Palms]

Amazing! Thanks very much for sharing.

David

[JD in the OC]

Mind boggling!

[brodklop]

Awesome stuff Wal. Keep them coming. Thanks Phill and Jeff for the photos.

Cant wait for the rest of these islands gems.

[Walter John]

Looks like pics of Verschaffeltia are proving tricky to locate on Phil's photo discs so I'll introduce another Seychelles favorite for the time being, Phoenicophorium borsigianum, and these guys were found in unusual positions, open areas and on top of hills whilst the Verschaffeltia splendida were located in gulleys and protected spots.

Let's go to Phil's Photos:

[Walter John]

More Phoenicophorium

with Deckenia nobilis and perhaps some other species ? I'm not sure. Marvellous photo this no matter what.

[Jeff Searle]

Wal,

Beautiful stuff, and the pictures they took are just as nice. I love the palms from the Seychelles, they are in a class by themselves. I wish I'm lucky enough to visit these islands someday and experience all there is to see in person.

Jeff

[Urban Rainforest]

Truly mindblowing stuff! I had no idea that there were such dense groves of palms on the Seychelles. For sure adding to travel wish list! Thanks wal and phil for the pics .

Stevo

[ariscott]

Wal,

Do the Phoenicophorium really grow in open areas, or still under canopy? I just expect them to be a little bit more orange in open area than the pics you posted... Besides, I like them a little bit orange, it makes them look really different....

Regards, Ari

[Walter John]

Wal,

Do the Phoenicophorium really grow in open areas, or still under canopy? I just expect them to be a little bit more orange in open area than the pics you posted... Besides, I like them a little bit orange, it makes them look really different....

Regards, Ari

I was curious about that too Ari. I might give Phil a call and ask. Perhaps they lose that orange after a while as they grow up and up like these ones in the photos.

[surferjr]

Wal,

Do the Phoenicophorium really grow in open areas, or still under canopy? I just expect them to be a little bit more orange in open area than the pics you posted... Besides, I like them a little bit orange, it makes them look really different....

Regards, Ari

I was curious about that too Ari. I might give Phil a call and ask. Perhaps they lose that orange after a while as they grow up and up like these ones in the photos.

Hi Ari and Wal,

I have some pictures somewhere of a Phoenicophorium in front of a market.....surrounded by black top?? I was looking at the tree thinking is this really a Phoenicophorium? :hmm:

But it had now color at all.

Happy Holidays,

clark

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Just amazing. I had no idea that Phoenicophorium grew so tall!

[surferjr]

Just amazing. I had no idea that Phoenicophorium grew so tall!

How old they are? I'm not sure but this is an old forest, the Coco de Mers are 60' plus in height 100 plus years I'd think!

Cheers ,

clark

[happ]

Palm Porn at it's best

[Walter John]

Hello Seychelles lovers and who isn't, we have managed to extract some more photos from Phil's camera from the recent Madagascar and nearby island trip. Remember, these photos were all taken of the palms in habitat only a couple of months ago.

A couple more Verschaffeltia splendida

[Walter John]

Deckenia nobilis

[surferjr]

Deckenia nobilis

These are truly a sight to see :drool: the florescent are so long and the indulgences parrots eating and dispersing the seeds everywhere, it is true nature at it's best walking through this rain forest.

Thanks Wal.

[palmislandRandy]

Magnificent palms! Thanks for posting them.

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Thanks Wal and Phil! I love the photos of the Verschaffeltia palm.

[Walter John]

More Phoenicophorium

Note how they are growing on what looks like rock and right out in the open, even at the tops of these small rocky mountains/hills, so they must take all the weather up there.

[Walter John]

More Deckenia

[Walter John]

And a jump to Reunion Island where the gang saw these magic Acanthophoenix rubra palms in habitat.

[Tala]

Many many thanks to you for these, this where my innermost palm desires reside. Had no idea how rugged some of the territory is there, while none of these are cold tolerant palms they certainly appear to be tougher than I would have thought. Kudos to all.