Bermuda Shorts Edition
Basselinia pancheri in Rivière Bleue, a site we will visit in New Caledonia. Photo courtesy of Don Hodel.
Bermuda is a 35 million-year-old speck of volcanically created, coral-capped land out in the near middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Due to its small size, Bermuda’s ecosystem is potentially very fragile. There are strict measures in place to keep further plant material off the island. With that in mind, it was very important to identify any unique palms on the island, document them, and attempt to further propagate so the species is not lost to Bermuda.
MAUI UPDATE
Also included in this month’s newsletter is an update about the recent fires on the Hawaiian Island of Maui. IPS Directors Mary Lock and Dr. Bill Baker, among many others, are spearheading an effort to repopulate the denuded landscape with native Pritchardia palms.