Date palms are littered throughout the central Florida landscape. While not native, they are certainly ubiquitous and have adapted well to Florida’s climate. I’ve often wondered how the original specimens were introduced. Perhaps it was a plant pioneer like David Fairchild or Henry Nehrling. These palms certainly occupy an important part of Florida’s landscape, particularly […]
MARCH 2020 NEWSLETTER: One of the great joys of all palm lovers is visiting palms in habitat. This is why the International Palm Society Biennial meetings are so memorable. This exhilaration clearly resonates with our mandate of palm and habitat preservation. The Southern California desert hosts the only palm native to the western United States […]
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020 NEWSLETTER: Dedication to the preservation of palms, interactions with legendary palm scientists, hobbyists and growers, as well as collegiality (read: fun) are the hallmarks of International Palm Society. A cohort of palm enthusiast recently met in San Diego California. One of the great benefits of membership is the opportunity to travel with like-minded […]
The IPS supports palm education, research and conservation. Through grants to individuals from the Endowment Fund, the IPS furthers education and research-based conservation. You can read about some of our grant recipients by clicking here. #GivingTuesday While the IPS runs fundraising all year, #GivingTuesday is a special one for us. #GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement, unleashing […]
SEPTEMBER 2019 NEWSLETTER: The Beverly Hilton, home to the annual Golden Globe awards, opened in 1955. Architect Welton Becket designed the building, along with other notable gems including Capital Records and the Santa Monica Civic Center. A tiki-themed Polynesian restaurant, Trader Vic’s (home of the original mai tai) occupied the ground floor, and a decision […]
If you are truly interested in conservation, then chose to protect one of our most unique plant species, the genus Pritchardia. If you think that coconut palms, kukui, bananas, taro and ti are natives and seem to grow easily, then it is time to rethink! These plants are alien, non native species brought to Hawaii […]
AUGUST 2019 NEWSLETTER: Around the world, palms serve many purposes and are routinely used by many cultures. Dr. John Dransfield forwarded these two photographs taken in Nakorn Ratchasima, Thailand by Dr. Wong Khoon Meng, Singapore. This furniture is crafted from the petioles of Borrasus flabellifer. Dr. Dransfield added that he “particularly liked the flared bases […]
The Apalachicola River basin is one of the most biologically diverse regions in the United States. It’s also where I spent part of my childhood; now that I have my own kids, I relish every chance I get to both visit family and share this biological gem with my wife and boys. The 4th of […]
One of the cruel ironies of the Tropics is that the soils that support magnificent rainforests are notoriously infertile. If tropical soils are so nutrient-poor, how can they support such diverse, towering forests? The paradox of rich and complex forests growing on infertile land was not resolved until the mid-twentieth century, when ecologists shed light […]
JULY 2019 NEWSLETTER: We welcome a new Newsletter editor, Andy Hurwitz, while extending our sincere appreciation to our outgoing editor, Daniel Meza. Andy is starting us off with a series on notable palm gardens. Anyone wishing to contribute a piece of a notable palm garden is encouraged to contact Andy at ashcvs@yahoo.com. Notable Palm Gardens: […]