Spurious and uncommon - Common Names

[John in Andalucia]

Feel free to add your own "pet" names, as long as a few of your mates are familiar with it too. Singular claims to a palm common name may be ridiculed, cross-examined or ummed and arred about.

In Peru I'm seeing Dypsis lutescens in superstores labelled as "Hawaiian Palm" (Palmera Hawaiiana). Anyone hear of that?

[Darold Petty]

My private joke,... I have two Trachycarpus wagnerianus. They are male and female, and siblings. I call them Siegmund und Sieglinde.

[John in Andalucia]

My private joke,...

Not anymore it's not. Thanks Darold!

[bgl]

John,

Dypsis lutescens..."Hawaiian palm", I think I have no choice but to resent that! And no, never heard of that. Unfortunately, here it's known as "Areca palm"! Whoever came up with that brilliant name should be deported to some place with no palms...

Anyway, here's one for you which I just heard myself some time time ago: "Malama palm" for Clinostigma samoense. Malama Street is my "old street" where my old 5 acre garden is located (now KPL's). Lots of people in our subdivision, Leilani Estates, walk by on their morning walks, and someone decided it was appropriate to call it the Malama Palm. After all, I planted 140 of them on those five acres! There are now hundreds and hundreds more scattered all over the subdivision. Most recently when we liquidated our nursery. I had 75 fairly large C. samoense in the ground on the leased land. Most with 2-5 ft of trunk. They were dug up (backhoe) and distributed among quite a few properties here in Leilani Estates. Only a few didn't survive the transplant operation. And for those who are not fluent in Hawaiian, "malama" means "to take care of".

Bo-Göran

[Patricia-CR]

Rafaloblastic -for Rhopaloblaste singaporensis

[John in Andalucia]

John,

Dypsis lutescens..."Hawaiian palm", I think I have no choice but to resent that! And no, never heard of that. Unfortunately, here it's known as "Areca palm"! Whoever came up with that brilliant name should be deported to some place with no palms...

Anyway, here's one for you which I just heard myself some time time ago: "Malama palm" for Clinostigma samoense. Malama Street is my "old street" where my old 5 acre garden is located (now KPL's). Lots of people in our subdivision, Leilani Estates, walk by on their morning walks, and someone decided it was appropriate to call it the Malama Palm. After all, I planted 140 of them on those five acres! There are now hundreds and hundreds more scattered all over the subdivision. Most recently when we liquidated our nursery. I had 75 fairly large C. samoense in the ground on the leased land. Most with 2-5 ft of trunk. They were dug up (backhoe) and distributed among quite a few properties here in Leilani Estates. Only a few didn't survive the transplant operation. And for those who are not fluent in Hawaiian, "malama" means "to take care of".

Bo-Göran

Bo, I imagine there must be a shortage of common names, given the species growing on Hawaii. That's quite an honour, nevertheless!

Marketing men were definitely at work when they plumped for, "Hawaiian Palm". I did a little browsing on-line and found on Flickr from the University of Hawaii Museum http://www.flickr.co...eum/4131679827/

In reference to Dypsis lutescens the following comment is a good example of how spurious common names abound: "..this is among the most commonly planted palms in Hawaii..".

[John in Andalucia]

Rafaloblastic -for Rhopaloblaste singaporensis

Patricia, that is Rof-tastic!

[Darold Petty]

Here in California Chamaedorea hooperiana is sold as 'Maya' palm for the indoor foliage trade. Chamaedorea plumosa is sometimes sold as 'mini queen' palm.

[Miccles]

Queen palms here are still sometimes labelled as "Cocos palm". Frightening.

Regards

Michael.

[paulgila]

someone said "samuri palm" recently here on PT--was that you,stevetoad?

[Walter John]

Kamikazi palm = Pigafetta in Beerwah.

[Walter John]

Queen palms here are still sometimes labelled as "Cocos palm". Frightening.

Regards

Michael.

These are usually referred to as Cocos around Sth East Queensland. I say Syagrus.

[John in Andalucia]

Queen palms here are still sometimes labelled as "Cocos palm". Frightening.

Regards

Michael.

These are usually referred to as Cocos around Sth East Queensland. I say Syagrus.

In Spain, too. They're always referred to as Coco plumoso or Cocos plumosa.

[Rafael]

In my recent thread "palm in mexico, wich one is it??", where i try to know its ID, i show this palm, that someone told to be acrocomia aculeata.

In Mexico it is called COCOYOL!

Un gran SALUDO John!

Edited August 19, 2011 by rafael

[paulgila]

to be fair using "cocos plumosa" for syagrus r. is really an example of an antiquated name,not a common name so it fits in the "spurious" category.

[John in Andalucia]

to be fair using "cocos plumosa" for syagrus r. is really an example of an antiquated name,not a common name so it fits in the "spurious" category.

Antiquated, but now considered among the many common names in Spain. Here for example, is a distinction between scientific and common name usage: http://fichas.infoja...cos-plumosa.htm

Note where it presents the "Nombre común o vulgar" below the Latin name.

Saludos a ti, Rafael!

[peachy]

I have a non palm friend from Hawaii who admired my 'fishtail' palms and said they reminded her of home. I had a couple of spare caryotas laying around and offered her one, but she said she would rather have a fishtail. Confusion reigned until she started pointing to my pritchardias. Needless to say she went home empty handed. I am mean with my pritchie babies.

Peachy