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Here are a few pics of my Butiagrus palm that has more of a plumose leaf.

Any others Livistona muelleri fans out there?

Other in the botanic garden of Málaga : Inflorescence: Luis

and a couple more..

Dick, Here is the green mother Butia

- 11:25AM: The lawn curved around the southwest corner of the property and patio, and guided tour goers back towards the front yard. This part of the collection had a number of fruit bearing species, including mangoes and wax jambu trees. - The pool and patio created a relaxed atmosphere in addition to the great weather so people began to take rest on the various benches and seating areas. - 11:27AM: "Let's see this growing in California." Jeff Searle exclaimed as he held up this Alocasia leaf. It is hard to make out clearly, but lining the fence along the back of the property, were many Zombie Palms, Zombia antillarum, planted like a hedge. - 11:28AM: The tour schedule at this point in the day was getting a bit fuzzy, but we all figured the same hour and a half designated time limit at the first garden should be used here as well. Lunch was going to be served at the last garden of the day, around 1:30 in the afternoon, or whenever people arrived. Ryan

- 11:20AM: "They look like giant onions." said one tour goer, possibly thinking about lunch, while another tour goer poses with these Queen Anne Crinum Lilies, Crinum asiaticum cv. 'Queen Anne'. They had been well trimmed to show off those reddish-burgundy stalks. - 11:22AM: The tour followed the lawn around the backyard and continued the 'clockwise' motion. - 11:24AM: Tour Host John Greenleaf took a moment to explain some of the differences between the Copernicia species, while standing in arms reach of this one C. gigas. - 11:25AM: In the center of the image, Andrea Searle, SFPS Director Sandra Farwell and FM. Randy Wiesner (palmisland) look over the selection of plants bordering the back of the property. A small Attalea cohune is in the extreme left of the photo, and a strange, unidentified Copernicia sp. is towards the right edge. Ryan

- 11:19AM: (4 of 4) The last shot of the panorama shows the back edge of the property, filled with many palms, tropical fruit trees and a few exotics. - As I got closer to the back edge of the garden, I noticed it was one, long planting bed dotted with mature and smaller palm species. Those two Satakentia liukiuensis marked the halfway point in the width of the property. The showcase of Caribbean palms continued around the entire estate. They were featured everywhere, including back here with different Coccothrinax and Copernicia representatives. - The house is not original, as John explained they had replaced the smaller first house with this one. I didn't ask the age of the collection, but the size and maturity of the palms speak for themselves. Those rosette sized Copernicia palms to the right of the pool are C. gigas, with a smaller C. macroglossa in front of them. - 11:20AM: A multi-stemmed Senegal Date Palm, Phoenix reclinata, took up an entire bed by itself at the edge of the patio. Ryan

It is one of those palm related mysteries that still drive growers and collectors crazy after all these years. We have only scratched the surface in regards to knowing exactly how palms grow and adapt to their environment. They can do amazing things while altering their biology to adapt to extreme situations, it is the one reason they are still found on the planet in large numbers and as different species. This last freeze exposed many newer species in cultivation to severe cold, and we have seen many surprises. For one fact, there is no straight line crossing through a temperature mark that says life above the mark, and death below for a certain species. It is a grey area. There are other considerations involving the survival of a certain palm, including the duration of the cold, point of severity during that duration, humidity, irrigation, proximity to moisture, planted or containerized, light exposure, wind exposure, specimen age and health, and so on. A large, planted established palm grown under optimal conditions has a much better chance of surviving severe cold exposure. One effect that might have led to the damage suffered by that tall Areca vestiaria var. 'Maroon Leaf' is the proximity to the metal cross beams of the Conservatory. They would have absorbed warmth away like a radiator creating a colder area in the higher areas near the screen. I did not ask if Jeff Block had protected anything during the cold, but there was evidence that he had not. - 11:18AM: The bulk of the garden tour goers had made their way through the gate to enter the backyard, while continuing to be led around by the knowledgeable owner, and Tour Host John Greenleaf. He can be seen above Bill Olson, Sr.'s hat wearing the tan shirt. John was describing how he wanted to landscape the yard with views in mind, so he could be on his patio and see the majority of his collection. We were all listening while looking at a nearby Pseudophoenix vinifera. - I took a walk along the eastern side of the garden so I could use the rising light to photograph the backyard in a panoramic fashion, starting with this shot of the side of the house and moving to the left in order (1 of 4). - 11:19AM: (2 of 4) The garden was well manicured and had a 'larger than actual size' feel to it. The open areas of the yard gave longer views making it feel larger than it was. That circular staircase led up to a expansive, second story balcony that must have had great views of the collection. I didn't think about going up there until now. The overbearing 'rush' factor of the tour was always present and it made me skip certain aspects and photo opportunities. To the left of that Buccaneer Palm was an old Syagrus schizophylla covered with ferns. - (3 of 4) Turning slightly to the left a few degrees shows the pool patio and the surrounding landscape. Ryan

A couple more!

A few more from John Greenleaf's impressive collection.