Tahina spectabilis seeds available!!!!

[Alicehunter2000]

Ok, so what is the verdict on the speculation of what these guys can take temperature-wise. Does anyone think that they will be similar to a blue Bizmarkia in cold tolorance? Who will be the first to try?

[Pivi]

here's mine today

[Palm Guy]

Bo - Thats excellent germination for any species. Well done.

BS - Time to get a rat trap! You sure it wasn't a caterpillar gnawing on your Tahina?

David - Mine survived a low of 50F/10C during a cold front of 3 days at temps between 65F - 50F. Its cool tolerant in my opinion. Not sure what the 'death temperature' would be. I would assume/speculate 32F/ 0C would be a dangerous temperature.

[BS Man about Palms]

BS - Time to get a rat trap! You sure it wasn't a caterpillar gnawing on your Tahina?

I thought I saw a snail trail, not sure, but just to be sure I tossed in some snail bait AND moved to my upstairs , uninsulated (yet) remodel. Currently hitting 85-90F during our heat wave. (normally not over 84F up there)

I just checked. No more damage overnight, but only about "2 folds" of leaf left, but pushing another, or the rest of this one leaf out.

[Kris]

Dear Peter

lovely still of a lovely baby palm,and also thanks for uploading it in Hi Res mode ! i simply love it !

thanks & love,

Kris

[Gbarce]

The 3rd leaf makes its debut.

[Gbarce]

this is 150 days from germination

[bruno]

I've received news from Xavier in the tahina area. The villagers are having discussions on what to do with the money. Xavier says that what they want most is not share for the community but rather dispose of it on an individual basis. Xavier is not giving the money till they find a solution and stop fighting.

The villagers have also secured a fire break nearly all around the palms. Here are the pics.

In summer (december to april) this area is covered with 30 to 50cm of water and the temperature gets up to 38°C.

[bruno]

[bruno]

Last pic, from google earth.

You can have the latitude and longitude and zoom down on the tahinas. The tsingy is the norhernmost one. This area happens to be in high definition.

[Breadfruit Bill]

When I look at my seedlings I often wonder how the locals used the money... The Firebreaks are a great preventative measure... Thanks for posting the update Bruno!

[Kim]

Hi Bruno! the fire break looks great.

I'm sorry to hear the villagers are fighting over the money, that's very sad. Their original plans for conservation, guide training, improvements in infrastructure and agricultural practices, and additional tools seemed so positive, would benefit everyone, and be much longer-lasting improvements than individual distribution. I would be sorry to see that precedent set.

Thanks for the update, love the google photo!

[waykoolplantz]

Whatabout building a school...Pete Balasky has built a few without Tahina revenue (funded himself...its the right thing to do)

[bgl]

Bruno,

Thanks a lot for the update! It's always a pleasure to read your posts. I'm sorry to hear about the disagreements the villagers are having, but hopefully they'll be able to work it out in a postitive way, and take advantage of the financial return from the seeds that have been sold so far (and any that may be sold in the future). And yes, the Google map is great!

Bo-Göran

[Tyrone]

Thanks for the info Bruno, and the google pics. That's really sad to hear that they are fighting over the money. I hope common sense prevails, and nothing gets dangerous out there. It's a positive sign that they are protecting the palms. I hope it stays that way.

Best regards

Tyrone

[BS Man about Palms]

Hi Bruno! Thank you very much for the Google link, I can finally see them!! I was looking more towards the Nosy Saba area before. The village right there, Antsingilava, it appears pretty small. Are there enough people there to "protect" the Tahinas? (Thats a good English sentence to translate)

[Kris]

Dear Bruno

thanks for the latest event updates from your place...i think the locals have started to tressure their natural wealth.And if their is a good goverment in power,the funds could be channelled through their bodies with strict guidelines...its just by my suggestion.

Since,man's most damgerous invention is money & the power & destruction it brings with it.it appears even those uneducated people there are behaving like citizens of modern world where they fight & kill themself for want of more wealth..!

But as Mike Harris has pointed out good things are being done,even without any revenues from those seeds...that's really nice to hear !

And since you all are there,i think the situation will soon be brought to normal & those villagers will come back to their senses & realise that education to the entire community is more important than few cash in hand which is going to vapourise in just a few months time.

i feel the local religious heads or elders should intervine,to bring in the much needed realisation of good health care,education & sanitation..to the locals.

since if they fight now it will be really difficult to collect & send seeds out of that country in the next harvest due to locals fighting amoung themselves.

Lots of love to you,

Kris

[bruno]

Remember: "tahina" means to be protected, it was a sign...

Unfortunately we cannot help solve their difficulty at getting together. Maybe it was a curse for that community? Maybe they will come out of it better?

And last: no one knows when another tahina will make seeds.

Anyway with the google map you can go and see them really close. And if you east to the coast, and then south all along that coast, you will be abble to see Xavier's compound, facing the sea, on a cliff, surrounded by the casew plantation. And further down, the airfield, and close by, buildings where huge shrimps are grown for export. That's out of topic, but it is always fun to browse with that incredible instrument.

[waykoolplantz]

Bruno...please post the coordinates...when i enter what i read on the map...it isnt valid

[Breadfruit Bill]

WayKool, copy and paste these numbas into the "fly to" space on Google eart.

-14.752785 47.431964

from dere you gonn hafi do some searchin

I can't see anything... It all looks blurred

[BS Man about Palms]

Bruno...please post the coordinates...when i enter what i read on the map...it isnt valid

Mike, it took me a while to "get it". I had to go into tools , I think, then I found a place to change the coordinates to "decimal point" then I could manover until I found it. Once you find it, its amazing how high up that "landmark" is visible.

[Gbarce]

4 leaves now!!

This one crept up on me, I usually spot the spear first but I had a pleasant surprise today finding a fully opened new leaf. The petiole was even out of the ground already.

[MAUSER]

Tahinas bonsai

http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=13893

[Gbarce]

This seedling seems to be speeding up. I just noticed that its pushing out its 5th leaf already.

[Kris]

Nice link with slide show !

http://www.arkive.org/dimaka/tahina-specta...age-G56965.html

Stills Gallery..

http://www.arkive.org/dimaka/tahina-spectabilis/images.html

Love,

kris

.

[Kris]

Another link !

(EDIT - link removed - contains advertisement - bgl)

[Central Floridave]

time for a 3 year update? How is everyone's Tahina doing?

I got one from a guy that got his from cincinatti, so reading JakeK post it must of originated from there. Mine has been in the ground and has seen 29F degrees.

there is also a thread on cold tolerance here:

http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=21772

[BS Man about Palms]

As you might guess from me and the container ranch... I'm surprised how much neglect these take and still keep going... (if kept on the dry side)...

[MattyB]

I suspect that mine has a problem. It didn't throw a leaf last Summer. I've just been looking into the little hole where the next spear is supposed to come from for a long time and nothing. The rest of the plant looks fine though. I've got it in a light mix and skip watering it regularly, sort of like I treat my Dypsis onilahensis. I hope it comes back to life this year.

[bgl]

I just did a little Tahina spectabilis group planting. Planted five of them day before yesterday. All five in one of the photos below. Then I added a sixth one yesterday. Also, a closeup shot of one them below. These are fairly robust growers, pushing out a new frond on a regular basis. Maybe once every 3 months or so. They respond quickly to going in the ground OR being moved up into a larger pot. (And, incidentally, the mound of rocks and soil will be cleaned up over time! The important thing right now is to get the palms in the ground!)

[LJG]

I suspect that mine has a problem. It didn't throw a leaf last Summer. I've just been looking into the little hole where the next spear is supposed to come from for a long time and nothing. The rest of the plant looks fine though. I've got it in a light mix and skip watering it regularly, sort of like I treat my Dypsis onilahensis. I hope it comes back to life this year.

I had three of these. One stopped growing like yours for a year. I got tired of waiting and threw it out. When I did I saw it did that thing where it pushes out of the growing point and was growing under the soil. I have a second one that stopped pushing months ago. I suspect it is the same issue so I will leave it alone. My biggest will go in the ground this spring. Wish me luck!

[Central Floridave]

Here is a current photo of mine. Growing in East Central Florida. It saw 29 degrees twice this past December. To keep it in perspective, I have mango and they have shown no damage either. A few miles North and mango did get freeze damage. There is also a small coconut palm nearby that is hanging on by a thread. Most coconut got killed during last winter. It is in a localized protected micro-climate, but it is an experiment.

New spear pushing out that I didn't see a month ago is showing.

[bgl]

Len,

What you describe seems to be fairly common for Tahinas. I have had a few that seemed to stop growing and when I removed one or two of them from their pots, I also found a new growing point. These palms seem to have a very strong survival instinct!

Bo-Göran

[BS Man about Palms]

Too add to my earlier post... I have two. One in heavy soil in a 5 gal pot. (Both sit upstairs in my addition) and I water it MAYBE once every 2 or 3 weeks....It is always pushing a spear where it started.

The other one is the amazing one. It sits in a "sub" 1 gal pot, in a light mix and I water it only slightly more than a plastic plant!! Yet it is still alive and growing..The older leaves are "browner" I'm sure due to a lack of water, but the last leaf is usually pretty green and usually has a spear moving on up...

So, my observation is that most people are overwatering... like usual.

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Too add to my earlier post... I have two. One in heavy soil in a 5 gal pot. (Both sit upstairs in my addition) and I water it MAYBE once every 2 or 3 weeks....It is always pushing a spear where it started.

The other one is the amazing one. It sits in a "sub" 1 gal pot, in a light mix and I water it only slightly more than a plastic plant!! Yet it is still alive and growing..The older leaves are "browner" I'm sure due to a lack of water, but the last leaf is usually pretty green and usually has a spear moving on up...

So, my observation is that most people are overwatering... like usual.

Hi Bill, My experience has been a little different. My potted Tahinas sit in soaking wet soil for 7 or 8 months of the year during the rainy season and it doesn't bother them at all. But, that could have something to do with the warmer temperatures here. Also, at times I forget to water them during the dry season and they get very dried out with no ill effects. Based on my observations, I think this is an amazing palm that is able to handle extremely wet OR dry conditions.

[LJG]

Len,

What you describe seems to be fairly common for Tahinas. I have had a few that seemed to stop growing and when I removed one or two of them from their pots, I also found a new growing point. These palms seem to have a very strong survival instinct!

Bo-Göran

Interesting. That makes me feel better it wasn't all me

[Gbarce]

Thi is my Tahina that's still in a pot. The leaves are about 2.5 feet across by my estimate. There is a small camera in teh middle of the right leaf for scale.

[Gbarce]

This is a palm with a heel and it looks like it is digging itself deeper into the soil. By the looks of it it seems to be moving forward too.

[Gbarce]

Apparently it is still in the distichous leaf arrangement stage.

I though that it had already grown out of that pattern but by the looks of it I was wrong.

[Gbarce]

This is the one that's in the ground and appears to be shorter. Looks like it had dug itself into the ground really deep. I wonder when it will finally start growing up rather than down