Season’s Greetings Edition The December newsletter traditionally features palm eye candy from the past year. Cindy Adair’s first photo of Calyptrocalyx, below, naturally pairs with this reflection by W. S. Merwin: “Before breakfast, as usual, I take tea leaves (yellow buds from the highlands of western China, the successors of yesterday’s Huang Ya from Mengding […]
Palms of Madagascarby John Dransfield and Henk Beentje was co-published in 1995 by the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and the IPS. Since that time, continued research and field work have brought to light a wealth of new species and one new genus (Tahina). Dr. Bentjee recently received a grant from the IPS for botanical exploration […]
The Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, with the support from the IPS, hosted a field course in Ecuador to train the next generation of palm biologists. The 22 participants came from Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Switzerland and Poland. Students of the Natural History of Palms field course in Ecuador. Photo by R. Montufar. Who will train […]
Dr. Andrew Henderson (New York Botanical Garden) and Dr. Nguyen Quoc Dung (Forest Inventory and Planning Institute, Hanoi, Vietnam) have received two grants from the IPS Endowment Fund. These grants allowed both researchers to document the incredibly rich and diverse palm flora in Vietnam. The grantees are in the final stages of producing a book […]
Support from the IPS enabled Ariane Cosiaux to undertake exploratory fieldwork in the Western Highlands of Cameroon. This preliminary study became a part of Ariane’s Ph.D. project, which focuses on how people of the Western Highlands exploit Raphia mambillensis. A seedling of Raphia mambillensis, Oku, North-West Province, Cameroon. Photo by Ariane Cosiaux. What can we […]
Ph.D. student Pélagie Mbandu Luzolawo benefited from the support from the IPS Endowment Fund for her inventory of the native palms of the Democratic Republic of Congo. She explored the central and eastern regions of the country, where more than 25 species of palms have been reported. Pélagie collecting Raphia gentiliana. Photo courtesy of Fred […]
Philanthropy Edition In this issue, we officially inaugurate the 2022 Save the Species campaign, targeting the ex-situ conservation of the critically endangered palm Pritchardia woodii. Pritchardia woodii is a critically endangered (IUCN Red List) species. It is endemic to Maui (and specifically to the Waiho’i Valley on the eastern edge of Haleakalā), and fewer than […]
Well, another Biennial has come and gone – this one equally amazing, yet completely different from the last; while Colombia was almost entirely walking through dense habitat with a public garden sprinkled in, Hawaii’s biennial consisted entirely of public and private gardens. And despite not visiting any palms in their native habitat, we saw many […]
Bon Voyage Edition I am absolutely twitterpated to be flying out today to attend our 32nd (and first in four years) biennial tour. As I prepare to depart, I’m reminded of IPS President (1996–2000) Dr. Phil Bergman’s admonition: “…a real vacation means that you go somewhere warmer than you are now. Of course, that translates […]
Back-to-School Issue It’s back-to-school time at the IPS newsletter! In addition to a quiz that tests your palm knowledge, this issue contains detailed information about the 2022 Biennial to Hawaii, including the full slate of speakers. You’re also cordially invited by Rick Kelley, president of HIPS, to visit some magnificent private palm gardens while on […]