Landscape palms of Central Java, Indonesia

[iwan]

OK, after four days of freezing temps, I decided I needed a tropical infusion.  Time to continue the trip.

Yogya:  We arrived in Yogya about two weeks after the 6.2 magnitude earthquake just offshore.  This was a devistating earthquake with almost 6000 people killed, 36,000+ injured and >1 million left homeless.  Yogya has a special place in my wife's heart and mine as it is a wonderful city and it is where we met while attending the major University there.  We had planned on staying for a week, but only stayed three days.  Needless to say we didn't take many landscape pictures here as our primary concern was to check on the welfare of our friends there.

So, let's start with the bad.  If the earthquake was not enough, Yogya is in the shadow of the volcano Merapi, which had become active prior to the earthquake.  Gunung Merapi is ~15 miles north of Yogya.  Most disaster pictures taken by a friend before we arrived.

Gunung Merapi

Looks so peaceful:

Or maybe not:

And some earthquake damage:

Relief camp:

When we arrived aid had still not arrived in the hardest hit areas.

[iwan]

OK, now on to landscapes...

Nice cycad.  Didn't see a lot of cycads.

Better shot of fronds (and come earthquake damage)

Inflorescence

Street trees

[iwan]

Not a great picture, but I didn't see a lot of palmate palms.

Palms framing stone carvings

Crowns of the above

Infructescence

[iwan]

Hotel courtyard garden

Another view

Looking down on Cocos

Cocos and Arenga (?)

[paulgila]

so sad about the earthquakes...

on a lighter note,i love the rest of the pics,great garden shots with the daybed.i'm in heaven

that arenga looks a bit like ptychosperma to me(?)

got any more?keep em comin'

[iwan]

(pohonkelapa @ Dec. 21 2006,22:27)

QUOTE

so sad about the earthquakes...

on a lighter note,i love the rest of the pics,great garden shots with the daybed.i'm in heaven

that arenga looks a bit like ptychosperma to me(?)

got any more?keep em comin'

Paul,

I shouldn't even try to put names on tropical palms.  I am not qualified.  I didn't go down in that parking lot to take any further pictures of that palm.  More pictures on the way.

[deezpalms]

That daybed looks like an old opium den.

[Charles Wychgel]

That "daybed " is actually a regular matrimonial bed made for a rich Chinese couple.

It is closed on three sides; the woman is supposed to sleep in the back so had to go in first then the husband, who in that position could protect his wife from tigers,snakes ( or other creepy creatures :: )

[iwan]

(Charles/Portugal @ Dec. 22 2006,11:31)

QUOTE

That "daybed " is actually a regular matrimonial bed made for a rich Chinese couple.

It is closed on three sides; the woman is supposed to sleep in the back so had to go in first then the husband, who in that position could protect his wife from tigers,snakes ( or other creepy creatures :: )

I concur with Charles on this.  It isn't as stylized/ornate as I would expect for a wealthy family though, but it could be a Javanese influenced design.  I know the hotel owner's son, so ethnicly it makes sense.

[iwan]

Sickly looking roebelenii (don't know if I saw any healthy looking  ones).  What is the plural of roebelenii?

More street trees

[iwan]

Funky little antique car (sorry).

Another street tree (best picture I have of it)

Cocos and some earthquake damage at the hotel where we stayed.  I have to admit, that I was quite uneasy staying in Yogya with the still frequent aftershocks.  After being in the Loma Prieta earthquake I have a small phobia.  It was the only place I did not feel completely safe.

[paulgila]

great pics of palme merah!

mau...

[iwan]

Some palms found around the Faculty of Letters, Universitas Gadjah Mada.  UGM is the second largest university in Indonesia.

Can't believe I found a Washingtonia, luckily the only one I saw!

Infructescence (a little out of focus)

[iwan]

A Licula ashtray  

Another very nice Licula

Pinanga sp ??

Infloresence

[SubTropicRay]

Hi Robert,

Are you a professional photographer?  If not, you had me fooled.  Thanks for another wonderful and insightful post.

Ray

[Jeff Searle]

Robert,

     Very nice pictures. Looks like a place I would like to visit. I think your last 2 pics. are not a Pinanga, but Ptycosperma elegans. Thanks again,

Jeff

[paulgila]

those don't look so much like ptychosperma to me,but rather the areca sp.that is quite common in indonesia

(catechu?).the leaves are a little "floppy",whereas the leaves on the ptychosperma in the prev.pics are held more erect.just my 2 cents,i may be wrong

[iwan]

(pohonkelapa @ Dec. 24 2006,19:06)

QUOTE

those don't look so much like ptychosperma to me,but rather the areca sp.that is quite common in indonesia

(catechu?).the leaves are a little "floppy",whereas the leaves on the ptychosperma in the prev.pics are held more erect.just my 2 cents,i may be wrong

Jeff,

I try to avoid ID'ing tropical palms, because I am just not qualified.  I extrapolated Pinanga from the broken sign below.  It does look like the second line could be Areca catechu (as Paul mentioned).  I was kind of surprised to even see an ID on any of these palms.  I have learned though, that trees are not exactly (or sometimes even remotely) correctly labled based on some of the pictures I have posted from various botanical gardens in Indonesia.

I had to pull out my Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms in memorium and the pictures of Areca catechu on pg 29, do look very similar.

[iwan]

(Ray, Tampa @ Dec. 24 2006,08:02)

QUOTE

Hi Robert,

Are you a professional photographer?  If not, you had me fooled.  Thanks for another wonderful and insightful post.

Ray

Ray,

Thank you for the compliments, but they must (mostly) go to my wife as the photographer for these trip pictures.  The bad pictures are likely taken by me.  She is not a professional photographer and would say most of these pictures are not worth showing to anyone.  Glad you enjoy them.

Luckily she appreciates palms almost as much as me (well maybe 80%).

[paulgila]

that IS lucky ::

[Kris]

Dear iwan  

thanks for those lovely stills & also thanks for that

classic mini copper(U.K)

Today mini has been taken over by the German

automobile giant_BMW.and have you seen the

modern mini's.

one of our u.s forum member has it too_in silver

metallic grey color.i have seen it in his palm stills.

mini & volkswagen_beetle(both the old & the new)

have a cult status & i happen to admire these cars

a lot.

thanks for those car stills.

Love,

Kris.

[iwan]

The rest of the pictures can be viewed at:

Yogyakarta

Solo (Mostly palace pictures, a few palms)

.