Doing a bit of cleaning up the dead fallen Australis leaves, with two growing near each other a mature one and a juvenile one, and the difference in the thorns on the young palm in comparison to the mature one is incredible.

You most certainly wouldn’t mess around with a young palm when doing a bit of cleaning up. Whereas the mature one they are not so deadly.

It’s obviously a defence mechanism but against what I don’t know, perhaps kangaroos munching on young palms, or is it a Gondwana time defence mechanism, back when there where some rather large marsupials roaming around eating them.

But there is certainly a difference in the thorns!

I approach both my Livistona with caution. The younger Australis and the older Chinensis will both cause blood to flow if not handled with gloves and caution. Also worthy of respect are Butia O. and Chamerops H. They are beautiful palms but from a distance , like many Phoenix. I had a small tip of a thorn lodge in my elbow when I was trimming . The thorn went right through my sweat shirt . I pulled it off my arm and thought that was the end of it. A few days later my elbow would hardly move without pain and it swelled. The very tip of the thorn broke off in my arm . I got it out with a sewing needle with a bit of effort. Just be careful! Harry

Phoenix palms are one of worst for being poisonous in my opinion, even more so when they are dead and dried up, absolute killers. Iam sure they have been the vain of many a trip to ER in the hospital. There can be some dangerous plants in the plant kingdom and many have been used throughout history for such foul play. But look on the other side of the coin at all the medicines derived from plants. Iam sure a bit of tennis elbow is a small price to pay for a thorn in the elbow. There is a fern in Australia called bracken fern and oh my step on a dead stem of that one and see what happens if you can’t dig it out, not a pretty picture in about 4 days time with more than a needle required for removal of that one. Home surgery at its best for that one.

Richard

I find that even if I look at them the wrong way I get scratched, stabbed, torn and bloody.

Weeding around a young L australis is not work for the faint of heart, so mine are weed infested!

Better weeds than human pin cushion ! Harry

13 hours ago, Jonathan said:

I find that even if I look at them the wrong way I get scratched, stabbed, torn and bloody.

Weeding around a young L australis is not work for the faint of heart, so mine are weed infested!

They will get you, try as you might but they still get you. Even a whipper snipper would get done by these evil monsters trying to get the weeds, just tell the husqvarna trimmer it’s time to weed the Australis and it would throw itself in the creek than have to deal with them!

13 hours ago, Jonathan said:

I find that even if I look at them the wrong way I get scratched, stabbed, torn and bloody.

Weeding around a young L australis is not work for the faint of heart, so mine are weed infested!

thorns on the young may prevent predation by grazing animals, and once they are larger they arent needed. There are two types of thorns, stabby ones(phoenix) and razor saw thorns(copernicia baileyana). My Livistona saribus has the nastiest looking thorns, they stab, while my bailey slices an dices with sharp edges in a sawtooth shape and alignment. The worst "stabbies" I have grown are from a phoenix sylvestris unknown hybrid, they are the sharpest "stabbie" thorns and combined with growing so many leaves, the most painful to remove each year, so I edited it. I put up with my bailey because it is awe inspiring and ultimately self sheds to as smooth trunk. When I do cut the dead leaves off, I drag them by the leaflets to the curb for disposal. My saribus leaves can penetrate gloves, I mulch them to rot and avoid the pile, its like barbed wire. One think to consider is the weight of a leaf, the more it weight the more pressure at the thorn point at the skin and the greater chance of a big stab/cut. I dont worry much about thorns on small palms, just dont grab. The bigger ones you have to lift and the opposing force can give a deeper wound. I would have rather had an australis than my decora, but I couldn't find one. I also love the saribus rotundifolius black stem, I looked for years and gave up, a stunning tropical looking palm with a black trunk. Livistonas are way underplanted here. Every time I see a washie I curse the big box stores for not offering the better livistona alternatives.

@sonoranfans “ Every time I see a washie I curse the big box stores for not offering the better Livistona alternatives “ , I couldn’t agree more ! The Livistona Australis is starting to make a presence here . When our local hospital added a new wing , they planted several mature specimens and they are beautiful. I don’t know where they found them . The only one I’ve ever seen at a nursery , I bought . Even though the poor thing had been neglected and was ready for the bin , I scooped it up at a discount , knowing they are tough as nails. The deeply divided , costapalmate fronds along with a relatively slender trunk make them a welcome addition . Just watch the “teeth” on them when they are young . Once overhead , it’s only when they are trimmed that the teeth are concerning. Harry